Mashatile’s millionaire mansions – but who pays for them? With Kyle Cowan

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It must be super lekker to be the deputy president. During the week, you can live it up in your Waterfall mansion in Midrand. And on the weekends, you can cruise down to Slaapstad to lounge by the pool in your Constantia palace. Both these properties have now been formally and publicly declared by Deputy President Paul Mashatile to Parliament, vindicating a long-standing media investigation led by News24. It’s the good life, good life, good life… Joining us in this edition of The Lead to colour in all the details is our specialist investigative journalist, Kyle Cowan, live from our Johannesburg newsroom. Later in the show, the Madlanga inquiry into alleged South African Police Service capture by criminals gets nearly R148 million to start its hearings. Finally, local budget-friendly supermarket Boxer tries to knock out the competition! You can send show host Graeme Raubenheimer a short voice note 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 thelead@24.com. Editions drop on Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 02:04 Crossing to Kyle Cowan
  • 32:25 Trending topic: Madlanga inquiry price tag
  • 33:47 AD: Driving with J9, a News24 podcast
  • 34:45 And finally: Boxer outperforms!
  • 35:47 Your voicenotes
29 Jul 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

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