In December 2022, the 55th – and possibly last – elective conference of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will take place against a backdrop of socio-political chaos. In this new limited audio documentary series by Daily Maverick, investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille take a road trip across South Africa in search of answers to how the country got to this breaking point, and how the lives and careers of three senior ANC figures – Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe and Dr Zweli Mkhize – may be representative of the rise and stumble of our once vaunted democratic project and, by extension, liberal democracies everywhere.
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In December 2022, the 55th – and possibly last – elective conference of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will take place against a backdrop of socio-political chaos. In this new limited audio documentary series by Daily Maverick, investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille take a road trip across South Africa in search of answers to how the country got to this breaking point, and how the lives and careers of three senior ANC figures – Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe and Dr Zweli Mkhize – may be representative of the rise and stumble of our once vaunted democratic project and, by extension, liberal democracies everywhere.
In this bonus mini-episode, Diana Neille and Richard Poplak give some context to their seven-point progression of how liberal democracies break down over time, referred to throughout the series. They’ve enlisted the help of struggle stalwart and former cabinet minister and ANC National Executive Committee member, Pallo Jordan, to illustrate how South Africa’s democratic project is emblematic of this breakdown.
Featuring:
- Pallo Jordan, struggle stalwart and former ANC National Executive Committee member & cabinet minister
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions)
The Highwaymen
In December 2022, the 55th – and possibly last – elective conference of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will take place against a backdrop of socio-political chaos. In this new limited audio documentary series by Daily Maverick, investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille take a road trip across South Africa in search of answers to how the country got to this breaking point, and how the lives and careers of three senior ANC figures – Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe and Dr Zweli Mkhize – may be representative of the rise and stumble of our once vaunted democratic project and, by extension, liberal democracies everywhere.
