The Lead

Who succeeds Steenhuisen? With Pieter du Toit and Velani Ludidi

In an about-turn, John Steenhuisen has decided to bow out as DA leader. It’s left the party’s upcoming elective congress all the more intriguing. We take stock of Steenhuisen’s tenure with News24 investigations editor Pieter du Toit, and assess Steenhuisen’s potential successors with journalist Velani Ludidi, in this special roundtable…

4 Feb 27 min

Witness F’s WhatsApps to Matlala, Sibiya and Mabuza. Plus: Steenhuisen’s done?

They are one of the most critical witnesses yet…In the Madlanga Commission’s view, the implicated police officer known as Witness F was the “go-between” for Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and General Shadrack Sibiya. The commission, as legal journalist Karyn Maughan reports, is leading Witness F’s sensitive WhatsApp messages that also reveal talk…

3 Feb 20 min

The Cat’s wife’s R3.7m training tender. Plus: Epstein’s SA links

While the notorious Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala gunned for dodgy multimillion-rand payouts with the Tembisa Hospital extraction scandal, the police, and even tried to pilot a luxury private airport terminal, it has now emerged that his wife, Tsakane, landed a lucrative training tender from the City of Ekurhuleni almost overnight. None…

2 Feb 21 min

Is SA getting ‘bad’ cars? With Wendy Knowler and Driving with J9

Today, we ask: Are we being forced to buy inferior new cars? There’s no sugarcoating the latest crash test results for Hyundai SA’s Grand i10, which received zero stars for front-seat passengers. While the AA has raised the alarm on the meagre two-star safety rating for the locally made Toyota Corolla…

29 Jan 23 min

No more state deals for ‘Stuttgart’ company tied to Mashatile’s son

His son has links to a company that once raked in millions from a questionable Gauteng Health Department contract. Now, this business, tied to Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s lad, Thabiso, not only has a fat tax bill and changed its name to that of a major German city, but it’s…

28 Jan 22 min

Senona spills on Mkhwanazi’s meeting with ‘Cat’ Matlala

The Madlanga Commission’s work deepens this week with KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss, Lesetja Senona, coming clean on his and his son Thato’s proximity to The Cat – Vusimusi Matlala. Senona admits he sent the controversial tender don Bheki Cele’s contact details, and even the contentious Political Killings Task Team disbandment letter…

27 Jan 29 min

New cellphone data rollover rules explained. Plus: Oscars 2026

Say you’ve used only a quarter of an expensive data bundle, and its 30-day use period is about to expire? Well, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has quietly gazetted new rules that force major mobile companies to roll this unused data over to the following month so you don’t…

26 Jan 41 min

The Lead hits 1 million listens! We cross to Davos for WEF and US-SA trade talks

The Lead on News24 has finally reached more than one million listens, and one million page views, in under a year. Thanks go to all of the excellent News24 editors, journalists and columnists who’ve lent a great deal of their time and energy to share their intricate knowledge of news. But…

22 Jan 17 min

From Iran’s navy with love: What’s next? With Carol Paton

Who, in our country’s signal of command, didn’t get the memo or ignore the president’s order to tell the Iranian navy to pull out of the recent BRICS war games off the False Bay coastline? The defence minister hopes a board of inquiry will provide answers soon, but News24’s specialist…

21 Jan 29 min

‘Day Zero’ looms large for drought-stricken Knysna

A real Day Zero scenario looms large for the people of Knysna. Bad seasonal rains, claims of a lack of water infrastructure maintenance – and the usual mix of poor politics – mean taps are on the verge of trickling to a halt. We catch up with News24 journalist, Velani…

20 Jan 22 min

More tough questions for Ekhuruleni mayor over DJ’s murder

There is a long list of burning questions piling up at the door of the Ekhuruleni mayor’s office these days. News24 investigations’ Sikonathi Mantshantasha is finally revealing that Mayor Nkosindiphile Xakhaza was at the scene of the 2023 nightclub murder of DJ Bongani Mfihlo, whom Xakhaza spent the night with…

19 Jan 23 min

‘Cat’ Matlala tried to open an ultra-lux OR Tambo airport terminal

When the “Cat” wasn’t sneaking his way into the heart of police operations, the controversial tender don was also trying to build a private international airport terminal with Nedbank’s financing help. Investigative journalist Jeff Wicks details yet another failed venture by Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. Later, in our trending topic, a…

15 Jan 18 min

Is the ‘prime lending rate’ just a load of BS?

Is the so-called “prime lending rate” – the fancifully advertised rate that banks use as a reference or pegging point to sell bonds and loans to us – just a giant load of untested BS? Why is it 350 basis points more than our much-deserved low repo rate, and isn’t…

14 Jan 25 min

Everything you need to know about the 2025 matric results

Back to school, back to reality… With schools about to reopen, senior education journalist Prega Govender takes stock of the 2025 matric results. Think of it like a scale: on one end, a greater average pass rate, while on the other, fewer pupils are taking critical subjects like standard maths…

13 Jan 32 min

Is KZN’s paper-thin coalition on the rocks?

Provincial coalition politics in KwaZulu-Natal are on shaky, uncertain ground, with the small kingmaker National Freedom Party trying to call the shots, threatening to pull out of the IFP, ANC, and DA government of provincial unity, leaving the MKP rubbing its hands. Our man in Durban, Soyiso Maliti, reports the…

12 Jan 25 min

Should SA get involved in the US-Venezuela crisis?

While the SACP marched on the US Embassy in Pretoria on Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s abduction of another sitting head of state, the political parties that make up the current government of national unity (GNU) failed to see eye-to-eye on how best to react to the US-Venezuela crisis…

8 Jan 29 min

From SIU head to NPA boss, Andy Mothibi’s surprise leap raises eyebrows

A surprise appointment to be sure… Corruption buster Advocate Andy Mothibi has his work cut out for him as the new head of the National Prosecuting Authority from February 1. But does his bypassing of the interview process sour the start of his new position, and what about concerns over…

7 Jan 21 min

Why are SA shoppers still using savings stamps? With Maya Fisher-French

In our second edition of the new year so far… They’re by no means a new invention. But they appear to be as popular as ever, according to one major retailer. Many South Africans continue to spend millions on savings stamps every month, according to consumer journalist Maya Fisher-French. Later,…

6 Jan 22 min

Analysing Bafana’s Afcon exit

Welcome to 2026 Lead listeners… From municipal elections to the FIFA World Cup, it is going to be a banger of a year… and we’ll be with you telling our countries’ most critical stories, every step of the way. For our first edition of season two of The Lead; Bafana…

5 Jan 29 min

Are we turning into an assassination nation? With Sikonathi Mantshantsha

Sadly, assassinations will come to define the 2025 news agenda. From Ekhuruleni financial auditor Mpho Mafole to Brakpan crimefighter Marius van der Merwe, several South Africans have paid the ultimate price for doing the right thing. Our senior investigative journalist, Sikonathi Manthshantsha, is live on the line with us in…

23 Dec 2025 22 min