The Lead

He thought: What have I got to lose? Let me take on the man widely tipped to lead the DA next. In this edition, The Lead host Graeme Raubenheimer picks Sibusiso Dyonase's brain on his 15-year journey in the DA, who he looks up to, and why challenging Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis for the top spot is so critical, politically speaking. And then Raubenheimer gauges who's who and running for which DA positions, with our deputy politics editor, Bongekile Macupe, ahead of the party's elective congress in Midrand this weekend. Finally, before Covid-19, there was SARS, and no, we're not talking about the taxman, in On This Day in SA History, our regular show segment. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

“In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift – a more human face.”Who said that? The late great Steve Biko, of course. But you may be a little disheartened to hear that Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement may be, to some extent, less of a focus in future school history studies, if the Basic Education Ministry's proposed revision of the history curriculum for grades 4 to 12 is finally approved. The 1652 Jan van Riebeeck tale may also enjoy less impetus should the revision, as gazetted, get the go-ahead, reports our education journalist, Prega Govender, in this edition. On that note, the long and winding Trans-Kalahari highway opened on this day in SA History in 1998, our daily show segment. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

He may not be your average police sergeant. Fannie Nkosi, who this Tuesday appeared before a Pretoria magistrate on several criminal charges, has been revealed to be a critical cog in how organised criminals communicated with the SAPS’ alleged bad apples. Then there's this intriguing tiff between EFF leader Julius Malema and deputy PA leader, Kenny Kunene, over claims Malema was too close to a late taxi boss. And what about Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala's bid to be relocated back to a Pretoria prison? Our specialist legal journo, Karyn Maughan, brings you a concise Madlanga Commission catch-up in this edition.In our trending topic, Randfontein protesters want Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to solve their crime problem. Finally, we ask in Rauby’s Pointless Braai Quiz, which iconic SA cricket stadium is undergoing a major revamp? Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

When it comes to global corruption indicators, South Africa continues to languish in the red, according to NGO Corruption Watch, as local efforts to drive out rampant graft and improve our world ranking have only stagnated in more recent years. Enter lifestyle audits for public office bearers. They're supposed to reveal any inconsistencies between what a state official earns and their actual standard of living. But, based on what members of Parliament heard this week, the general progress of these audits has been anything but smooth, our correspondent, Jan Gerber, reports in this edition. In our trending topic, the Saxonwold shebeen is back up for grabs. That's if you're into marble elephants! And finally, On This Day in SA History - specifically in 1987 - Wits University honoured a black woman with an honorary degree for the first time ever. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

If you're desperate for some good news this April, you've come to the correct place. From a 6-year-old author with three books to her name, to a fitness coach who gave a group of boys the opportunity to witness the Bafana Bafana match-up live in Cape Town. These are among a few of the inspiring stories editor Paul Herman and The Lead host Graeme Raubenheimer discuss in their yearly Good News Day episode. Finally, Mzansi got its first centralised national police force, but later had to call in the army. On This Day in SA History, our regular end-of-show segment. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube Monday through Thursday at 19:00. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

This Tuesday, News24 fielded numerous reports of petrol stations across Mzansi shutting shop and turning away motorists desperate to fill up ahead of the staggering fuel price increases at midnight. Despite government slashing the fuel price levy this April, you and I will still be digging deep to pay an extra more than R3 per litre for petrol, and an eye-watering more than R7 per litre for diesel. Catching up with specialist business journalist Lisa Steyn, she reminds us that among the key reasons we're experiencing a fuel crisis is that there simply aren't enough tanker trucks to ferry fuel to every station. Finally, we look at one of the founders of Islam in the Cape in our regular segment, On This Day in SA History. A special thanks to News24's video journalists for contributing various vox pops for this edition. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

It's quite evident that the attempted murder- and tender fraud-accused Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala relied on several allegedly crooked cops to seal a tainted R360 million police health services tender. The question now, though, is: Who, from the Medicare24 stable of companies, backed the notorious figure in his bids? In other words, our multi-award-winning journalist and author, Jeff Wicks, asks: Who exactly is Mike van Wyk? Later in our trending topic segment, a pensioner appears in court for the Bellville South house of horrors murder. Finally, the United Nations started taking stronger action against apartheid SA, with On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

Let it be known: Thursday, 26 March, marks exactly 100 days before the inaugural Nations Championship kicks off. With one successful alignment camp already behind them, 2026 will undoubtedly be one for the books for the Boks. The world champions square up against England, Scotland and Wales in the new tournament in July, not before a pre-season opener against the Barbarians in Gqeberha in June. Let esteemed News24 Sport rugby writer, Herman Mostert, guide you through the Boks' year ahead in this edition of The Lead. In our show’s trending topic, the ANC’s Eastern Cape elective conference is interdicted by the courts. Finally, we recall the early birth of the Kruger National Park, with On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

The crucial work by our News24 Investigations team, in collaboration with journalist and author Jeff Wicks, over the past more than three years has finally seen the law catch up with the notorious Cat, Vusimusi Matlala, as well as a dozen police officers. They all allegedly colluded to push through a dodgy SAPS tender worth R360 million, all to line the pockets of Matlala and those closest to him. We touch base with Wicks and bring you the latest from court. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape, the ANC is fighting with itself over who will lead what's shaping up to be a highly contested provincial elective conference. We cross to journalist Soyiso Maliti for more. Finally, the Nieuwe Haerlem shipwrecks off the Cape of Storms in the 1600s, On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube Monday through Thursday at 19:00. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

Every now and then, South Africans are rocked by the depravity of a heinous act of crime. This week, we learnt of a 63-year-old woman who stands accused before the courts of murdering and dismembering her beloved 79-year-old sister, a resident of Cape Town's Bellville South suburb. Allow News24's journalist, Lisa-Lee Solomons, to relay the grim aspects of this story to you in this edition. Finally, Daveyton on Gauteng's East Rand was marred by a political massacre, On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

What is the public not getting to see after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) was ordered to keep the findings of a damning forensic investigation under lock and key? Despite evidence of major alleged graft and bribery against him, Prasa's former head of rolling stock, Molefe Mosweu, is a free man after being allowed to resign before any internal disciplinary action was taken in regard to this Webber Wentzel probe. Investigative journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha takes us through what he knows in this edition. In our trending topic, "Prime Evil", Vlakplaas commander Eugene de Kock denies any involvement in the Cradock Four's 1985 murders. Finally, the 1994 Goldstone Commission saw the axing of 10 apartheid security officials, with On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

On Day Two of News24’s On The Record jobs summit, we weigh the severe toll crime and corruption have taken on the state of South Africa, and hear from our new National Prosecuting Authority head, advocate Andy Mothibi, with News24’s investigations editor, Pieter du Toit. Later in the show, let Lead host Graeme Raubenheimer bring you the best bits from the panel debate on: where to for BBBEE? Hear from the hilarious Irish economist, David McWilliams. And end off, like any episode of The Lead, with some good news: this jobs summit has actually helped to create employment. All of this, On The Record, on The Lead on News24. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

We're a country of around 65 million people. Now, if you consider the expanded definition of unemployment in South Africa, which is nearly 43%, this equates to 12.4 million people of age who simply cannot find work right now. Of this figure, 3.7 million people in this country today are discouraged, meaning they simply do not want to work for a myriad of reasons. Enter: News24's On The Record jobs summit, tasked with the ultimate question: How can we add 5 million quality, formal sector jobs in the next decade? First, we check in with our specialist journalist, Carol Paton, to discuss the highlights of her panel and hear from business leaders, economists, thought leaders, and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Then, catch The Lead host, Graeme Raubenheimer, in candid interviews with SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter and former finance minister Trevor Manuel on our jobs crisis and a range of other issues. Lastly, we’ll share but a snippet of our five minutes door-stopping, as journos say, with Ramaphosa on the Johannesburg governance crisis. All of this, On The Record, on The Lead on News24. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube Monday through Thursday at 19:00. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

This Wednesday on The Lead on News24, we drill down, layer by layer, into two high-profile murder cases: the Murray murders and the killing of the Madlanga Commission's “Witness D”, Marius van der Merwe. We draw out three key suspects who have all enjoyed past ties to a central figure in the country's often highly-violent and extremely lucrative tobacco industry. Let expert investigative journalist and Mafia State author Kyle Cowan take you down this organised crime rabbit hole, in this edition, next.SA went nuclear in 1965. On This Day in SA History is our regular segment. We also throw to News24's much-anticipated On The Record jobs summit set to be held this Thursday and Friday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. How do we create five million more jobs in 10 years? Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

From Pretoria to Parliament: we hear from two Fannies in the SAPS this Tuesday. One, a sergeant, Fannie Nkosi, who claims that national deputy top cop Shadrack Sibiya did accept gifts from alleged criminal Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. And two, national top cop, Fannie Masemola, who insists to MPs that he doesn't target people, simply gets on with his job. Let journalists Karyn Maughan and Jan Gerber bring you up to speed with the two inquiries into claims that criminals have captured the state justice system. Then, in our trending topic, a violent convict who escaped a KwaZulu-Natal prison is back in leg irons. Finally, Apartheid's draconian censorship laws are set in On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

It's meant to revolutionise the processing time it takes to crack critical criminal cases in Gauteng. But no, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, claiming that the long-delayed forensic pathology lab in Johannesburg is a “win” during your administration feels hollow, given that it was meant to open seven years ago. Just ask our News24 metro journo, Alex Patrick, who's been following this building's progress since day one. In our trending topic, Minister Gwede Mantashe reveals the government is seeking to secure more fuel amid the current global oil price surge. Finally, one of the very first known Christian missionaries to Southern Africa met his demise, as featured on On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

He claims he was caught up in the web of doing business with people he eventually became afraid of disobeying. But the Madlana Commission has put it to ANC-affiliated businessman Suliman Carrim that he may have committed money laundering by moving funds between himself, the notorious Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, and supreme tender don Morgan Maumela. It has been a whirlwind week of testimony in Pretoria, reports our specialist legal journalist, Karyn Maughan. In our trending topic, Health Department Director-General Sandile Buthelezi has been suspended following Global Fund corruption claims. Finally, former apartheid-era defence minister Magnus Malan went on trial for murder, On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

With global oil prices skyrocketing, largely due to rising conflict in Southwest Asia, South African industry experts are concerned that we should be shoring up our local fuel supplies. And although the economy shows signs of a strong rebound, motorists face the prospect of petrol prices rising by more than R2 at the pumps this April. Still, there are some silver linings, reports our specialist writer, Lisa Steyn. In our trending topic, ex-Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste's Hermanus mansion has new owners. Finally, 1994 was anything but peaceful in the North West, as On This Day in SA History shows. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.

We now know that City of Ekurhuleni financial auditor Mpho Mafole put his life on the line to raise red flags about the metro's R1.8 bn toilets tender. Deciphering every detail, News24 investigations journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha and company have found proof that one of the contractors appointed is intimately and politically connected – although Lebohang Ximba, the wife of former Ekurhuleni political advisor Nkosana “Killer” Ximba, likes to deny it. In our trending topic segment, former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s asbestos scam tender trial is failing to launch proceedings this 2026. Finally, Robert McBride emerged as a key political figure in diplomatic SA, as featured in On This Day in SA History. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

He’s the preferred candidate whose name is on the lips of many senior DA party members. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis sits down to lunch with The Lead’s Graeme Raubenheimer this Thursday.From student politics, his allegiance to Helen Zille, the George v Steenhuisen saga, and ambitions for the Union Buildings, the man vying to be DA leader bares all. We include the usual show segments, such as On This Day in SA History and Rauby’s Pointless Braai Quiz. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube Monday through Thursday at 19:00. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24’s editors.