Coming up on
Carte Blanche this Sunday (23 April):
*Please note: it's a 90-minute episode
Hook-up Hijinx
He was a young man looking for an exciting rendezvous on the dating app Grindr. But within minutes of meeting his love match, he knew something was horribly wrong.
What followed was a terrifying ordeal of beatings, torment, and robbery from which he escaped alive but with deep psychological scars.
What’s more, he’s not the only victim: In a worrying trend, opportunistic criminals are using online dating apps to “catfish”, blackmail and rob people whose only desire is to find love or a fleeting romance.
Many of those who’ve fallen victim to these crimes say they’ve received little support from the police, and the app developers are refusing responsibility.
In a special two-part report, Carte Blanche investigates.
Producers: Latashia Naidoo & Hein Kaiser
Presenter: Bongani Bingwa
Behind the Visor
It’s one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With an army of foot soldiers given their marching orders by a computer algorithm, the food delivery sector provides a quick and reliable service to hungry middle-class customers.
But for the hundreds of delivery riders, it’s a dangerous job offering very little reward.
From irate clients to violent hijackings and deadly collisions, many are now so terrified they work in pairs, escorting each other on their deliveries.
In this ruthless and unregulated business, riders are falling prey to the country’s criminal networks.
Producer: Chuma Kave
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
Knockout
A young man is assaulted at a house party in Bantry Bay, Cape Town - an attack captured on CCTV. He sustains a skull and nose fracture, permanent brain damage and hearing loss.
His life forever altered, he’s left with a rare condition in which noise leaks painfully through his brain. But that was just the beginning of his harrowing ordeal.
Two-and-a-half years after the attack, and despite having a prime suspect, police and the National Prosecuting Authority have yet to act against the alleged perpetrator - a wealthy young man from a well-known family.
Armed with the critical video footage, the victim wants justice.
Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Pilot Project
An alleged scamster with a tenuous relationship with reality: a bogus pilot, bogus Iraq war veteran, and bogus immigration expert.
Yes, there’s no end to the roles on Jonathan Constable’s CV for which he is suitably unqualified.
In fact, the only thing at which this Jack of All Trades truly excels is taking people for a financial ride.
It’s alleged he’s hijacked buildings, weaponised the police to settle scores, and posed as a Home Affairs official to dupe desperate refugees out of tens of thousands of rands.
This is a story Mr Contestable appears desperate to conceal but, despite his efforts to duck accountability, Carte Blanche will do what Carte Blanche does.
Producer: Harri Vithi
Presenter: Derek Watts
The Good Samaritans
In early April, Carte Blanche investigated an Eastern Cape lawyer who claimed to be helping children with disabilities access to millions of rands in compensation from the State, only to abscond with money that was rightfully theirs.
As a result, children living with cerebral palsy and their vulnerable mothers were denied a chance at a different life.
Within hours of the broadcast, good Samaritans offered to help the children featured in our programme, providing wheelchairs and critical medical support. A testament that truth certainly brings change.
Producer: Tarryn Crossman
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Carte Blanche airs on M-Net on Sundays at 19h00.