Shades of Babita - another auditor, another hit and more tender billions

Loading player...
It may mean “place of peace”. But the City of Ekurhuleni has been on edge this year following the murder of its chief auditor, Mpho Mafole. The soon-to-be married financial investigator was shot and killed not far from his Kempton Park home in late June. Mafole, a former staffer in the Auditor-General’s office, was only three months on the job in Ekurhuleni. And he is most certainly not the first municipal auditor to be targeted for combing through the metro’s books, but for what specifically? Piecing together this complex story is Sikonathi Mantshantsha, our senior investigative journalist joining us in this edition of The Lead. Later in the show, the DA-led City of Cape Town faces flak for giving a R2-billion tender to a Jozi company. Finally, while the Mother City shivers, KwaZulu-Natal busts out the aircon for dry conditions and veld fires. 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. Editions drop on Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 01:58 Crossing to Sikonathi Mantshantsha
  • 20:03 Trending topic: CoCT R2bn Jozi tender saga
  • 21:10 AD: Listen Up! With Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes
  • 22:04 And finally: KZN wild fire warning
  • 22:50 Graeme's outro / On This Day in SA History
4 Aug 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Show us your slips! Cracks revealed in state lifestyle audits

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…
2 Apr 22 min

April Feels Day stories to beat those fuel price blues

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…
1 Apr 23 min

This is no April fuels joke

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…
31 Mar 19 min

You’ve met the “Cat”, but who is Mike van Wyk?

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,…
30 Mar 18 min

100 days to kickoff, here’s your Boks ‘26 test guide

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…
26 Mar 25 min