The Lead

• Has the NPA messed up again? Karyn Maughan on why Ace Magashule’s PA walked free

  She’s a free woman. Moroadi Cholota, the former assistant to then-Free State Premier Ace Magashule, has won her special plea against the National Prosecuting Authority. The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein declared her extradition from the United States “unlawful” following a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that only the Justice Minister may request extradition. The ruling leaves the NPA with a bloody nose, and many legal experts have warned that this trial-within-a-trial may have far-reaching consequences. To decipher what this all means, legal journalist Karyn Maughan joins us in this edition of The Lead.  Later in the show, Graeme Raubenheimer discusses the AARTO Act’s consequences for errant motorists and snow forecasts nationwide. You can now send a short voice note of 15 to 20 seconds with your questions or thoughts on this episode to our official The Lead WhatsApp line, that’s: +27 72 562 3179. Mail your comments to [email protected]. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. 

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• Bye-bye Floyd - why MK speared Shivambu as SG, with Andisiwe Makinana

  He took off his red beret to take up the spear. But the writing’s been on the wall for some time before the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on Tuesday booted Floyd Shivambu out of its secretary-general office and onto the benches in Parliament. “Floyd’s visit to (Shepherd Bushiri) in Malawi was an excuse they could find to take action against him,” says News24 political editor Andisiwe Makinana. She joins us in the studio to discuss what this shift means for Shivambu’s political prospects. Later in the show, South Africa’s deputy president goes big on the taxpayer’s ticket in Japan. Finally, claims of imminent June power cuts are hogwash, says our disinformation desk. You can now send a short voice note of 15 to 20 seconds with your questions or thoughts on this episode to our official The Lead WhatsApp line, that’s: +27 72 562 3179. Mail your comments and voice notes to [email protected]. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. 

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• Selling sweets to pay for matric ball and May’s best good news stories

  From a viral grade twelve pupil selling sweets every morning at the local taxi rank to attend his matric dance, to a young Ikeys rugby star who got a shock call-up from Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, by the end of Tuesday’s discussion with Good News Editor Paul Herman in The Lead, we hope to leave you feeling extra inspired and proud to be a South African. Later in the show, host Graeme Raubenheimer discusses controversial Gauteng tenderpreneur Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala who has abandoned his bid for bail in connection with an alleged failed hit. Finally, we look at how the economy barely budged in this year’s first quarter. Mail your comments and voice notes to [email protected]. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. 

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• Suspected ISIS SA leader appears in a Joburg court, with Tankiso Makhetha

  The Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit (CATS) believe they’ve caught a suspected senior leader in the Islamic State terrorist network operating right out of Johannesburg’s inner city. 39-year-old Abubakar Ali appeared in the city’s magistrates court on Monday to apply for bail after he was arrested in Fordsburg on a charge of carrying an unlicensed firearm. The Lead host, Graeme Raubenheimer, crosses to News24’s Tankiso Makhetha at court who tells us why the case has been postponed to 11 June when other alleged ISIS-linked matters are due to be heard. Later in the show, government’s new licensed lottery operator promises a jackpot shake-up but a court case ensues. Finally, a viral Cape Town teen opens a sweets and chips business to pay for his upcoming Matric ball. Mail your comments and voice notes to [email protected]. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

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• News24 finds ‘hornet’s nest’ of fake news, with Andrew Thompson

  Like most fake news these days, it all started with a friend’s WhatsApp message, sharing an article with the header: “Cape Town drivers to face congestion tax starting June 1st”. With a quick Google search, we found that the City of Cape Town had already rubbished this article as fake news. But when News24 Disinformation Desk Editor Andrew Thompson investigated the source of the article, he found a whole lot more than he bargained for. An Indian digital agency was using hijacked South African websites to publish fake, AI-generated articles under the byline of a fabricated journalist.“ These were very generic WordPress websites, using an easy and cheaply-available template called ‘GP Marketer’, and its URL was only registered about two, three weeks ago, which makes the viral breakout success quite alarming”. Thompson tells The Lead how he went to work and why  the rapid spread of fake news is so alarming. Later, we look at the day’s headlines about crimes against women and children. Finally, News24 Food has the hot ticket to all the top events this winter. Mail your comments and voice notes to [email protected]. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

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