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#126
Yesterday · 17 min
Frank Chikane, DA Polls and the ANC’s Retreat From the Cities
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, recorded a week before the 4 November local elections, Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya discuss the ANC’s campaign and its declining support in the metros. Haffajee reports from an ANC Johannesburg fundraiser that served as a soft launch for Reverend Frank Chikane’s mayoral campaign. They look at News24’s report on DA internal polls indicating the party may become the largest in six metros, whether the ANC is retreating to rural support bases, service delive
#125
Monday · 22 min
ANC Candidates Restored After Party Failed to Press ‘Submit’
In the first episode of Daily Maverick’s Beyond the Lead, Tamsin Metelerkamp and Lerato Mutsila speak to parliamentary journalist Marianne Merten about the Constitutional Court’s 15 October ruling in the ANC’s dispute with the IEC. The ruling returns 181 ANC candidates in six municipalities to the ballot for the 4 November local government elections, after the party did not complete the final submission step before the deadline. Candidates from 32 other parties are also included. The discussion
#124
October 22 · 22 min
ANC Decline, DA Gains: What Four Polls Show Before 4 November
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya assess four opinion polls ahead of the 4 November local government elections. All four point to a continued decline in ANC support, with the DA polling between 25% and 27% and the MK Party between 12% and 15%. They discuss President Cyril Ramaphosa’s focus on national reforms, the DA’s Johannesburg campaign under mayoral candidate Helen Zille, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba’s anti-migrant platform, and Jacob Zuma’s apparent m
#123
October 21 · 34 min
Ferial Haffajee and Ernst Roets on AGOA, Crosses and Autonomy
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, Ferial Haffajee presses Ernst Roets of the think tank Lex Libertas about his group’s recent campaign in the United States. She asks why its Washington vigil of 3,000 crosses focused on farm-attack victims, why the group took its case abroad rather than to South African institutions, and whether it bears any responsibility if South Africa loses AGOA, as President Cyril Ramaphosa warns of possible exclusion. Roets sets out his positions on each, along with his ca
#122
October 15 · 1 min
How a Narrow Court Ruling Became a Week of Anti-Foreigner Posts
In July 2026, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that asylum seekers cannot be turned away on procedural grounds before their claims are heard. When Home Affairs began implementing the ruling in October, posts about it on X rose from about 4,000 to 60,000 a day, many carrying false claims about citizenship, grants and voting. Drawing on Murmur Intelligence data and reporting, this video explores who amplified those claims, how the online conversation moved to street mobilisation in Durban
#121
October 15 · 20 min
Ngobese-Zuma’s March and March: Tenders, Funding and MKP
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya discuss March and March, the anti-migrant movement led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, after last week’s mobilisation in KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg. Both journalists covered the “third force” of the early 1990s, and Makhanya argues the movement’s scale points to significant funding and organised backing. They examine News24’s report that Ngobese-Zuma and her husband won about R12 million in state tenders, how social media spread
#120
October 14 · 4 min
Ekurhuleni Murders: What We Know About the Killings of 12 Women
At least 12 women have been reported murdered in Ekurhuleni since July 2026, prompting speculation that a serial killer may be operating in Gauteng. Police have set up a task team to investigate possible links between several cases but have not confirmed whether any are connected. Daily Maverick journalist Reitumetse Pilane sets out what is known: the similarities between the cases, the arrests and evidence that suggest some are unrelated, and what forensic experts say about how investigators ap
#119
October 9 · 4 min
Inside the South African drug deal that exposed an alleged Afghan trafficker and his ‘Taliban ties’
A confidential US Drug Enforcement Administration source bought a methamphetamine sample in a Johannesburg parking lot in December 2024, evidence now central to a federal case against former Afghan politician Abdul Zahir Qadeer. Qadeer, once a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, was arrested in Kenya in April 2025 and extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics and heavy weapons internationally. Journalist Caryn Dolley traces South Africa's role
#118
October 7 · 18 min
Broke, divided and barely visible: the ANC limps towards 4 November
With less than a month until South Africa’s 4 November local government elections, Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya assess the state of the ANC’s campaign. They also talk about Johannesburg, where recent polling suggests the DA will not win an outright majority.
#117
September 30 · 31 min
AI Risks and AI Hype: Two Daily Maverick Journalists Debate
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, senior journalist Rebecca Davis and Business Maverick managing editor Lindsey Schutters debate the risks of artificial intelligence. Davis argues that recent reported incidents, including AI agents hacking systems, altering their own reasoning records and acting beyond their instructions, point to genuine safety concerns. Schutters explains that much of the existential fear reflects marketing by AI companies seeking investment ahead of stock market listings, an
#116
September 30 · 7 min
Cape Town Planning Tribunal Agreed With Officials Almost Every Time
Over thirteen months, Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal ruled on 1,328 land-use and development cases. Not one was recorded as an explicit departure from city planners’ recommendations. The pattern surfaced in a fight over two data centres proposed near Cape Town International Airport, where objectors warned of a 174-megawatt draw on the grid and 4.4 billion litres of water a year, in communities that already struggle to pay municipal bills. Daily Maverick’s Kevin Bloom’s reporting explain
#115
September 23 · 5 min
Swimming SA to Pay Tatjana Smith Interest, Faces Scrutiny Over Kit's Deal
Swimming South Africa withheld prize money owed to Tatjana Smith for over a year after her historic gold and silver medals at the 2023 World Championships, and allegedly failed to pay interest accrued during that delay. The federation has now agreed to pay the outstanding interest in full, following a letter of demand from Smith's attorney. The dispute has also drawn scrutiny to the federation's kit sponsorship rules and its handling of an information request over its contract with swimwear bran
#114
September 23 · 12 min
Prasa’s R5.6bn Siyangena scandal demands NPA action
Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa boss Lucky Montana, along with his alleged corruptors and their enablers, could be facing charges for their alleged crimes. Daily Maverick’s investigative journalist for Scorpio Pieter-Louis Myburgh explains.
#113
September 23 · 3 min
Inside Sassa’s grant review: Queues, outages, suspensions
Daily Maverick’s Tamsin Metelerkamp visited Sassa offices across five provinces to look at the agency’s intensified grant review process, launched to detect fraud. The investigation found overburdened, understaffed offices, frequent system outages, and lawful beneficiaries facing suspended payments and repeated office visits to resolve them.
#112
September 8 · 5 min
Declassified document shows ANC were favourable to offering indemnity to apartheid-era crimes
Minutes reveal former apartheid president FW De Klerk told his final Cabinet meeting that an agreement with Nelson Mandela and the ANC on indemnity for apartheid crimes was reached 48 hours before the 1994 election – igniting accountability questions. Daily Maverick’s Marianne Thamm explains.
#111
August 31 · 2 min
Inside NSFAS boss Mathebula’s R110,000-plus spending
While tertiary students across South Africa demand an increase in food allowances and an accommodation cap, the upper echelon of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appears to be operating on a vastly different budget, including eyebrow-raising spending on hotels. Siyabonga Goni reports.
#110
August 25 · 7 min
Is Cape Town Fast-Tracking a Power-Hungry Data Hub?
A golf course became a R3-billion logistics hub. Now it’s set to house two of Cape Town’s biggest data centres. Daily Maverick’s Lindsey Schutters reports on a R100 land-swap, a data centre reclassified as a “warehouse”, and the environmental assessment that’s been pushed down the road.
#109
August 20 · 16 min
Manifesto test: DA’s local government plan eyes the private sector, devolving policing
The DA has promised to get rid of corruption in municipalities, ring-fence revenue for electricity and water, and to bring in the private sector to boost many service areas. Let’s assess its manifesto.
#108
August 19 · 12 min
Manifesto test: The revolution promised, the record questioned
The EFF is consistent on municipalities having to focus on serving the people. Good intentions, all the right words, but what does its track record reveal?
#107
August 17 · 5 min
SA’s sports funding crisis exposed as athletes pay the price
South Africa’s athletes are winning on the world stage, but they’re paying for it out of their own pockets. From R120,000 tournament fees to covering official staff costs, we look into why national teams are forced to crowdfund while big-budget spending happens elsewhere. Daily Maverick’s Annemieke Thomaidis explains.

Showing 1–20 of 37 episodes