True Crimes Africa

In Bare Bones, she re-examines missing and murder cases she has covered in her podcast series, and revisits the leads and the interviews she conducted. Much of the information has never been made public before.

The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. In 1939, when the Union of South Africa entered the war on Britain’s side, the German government secretly contacted the political opposition, and the leadership of the anti-war movement, the Ossewabrandwag. The Nazis’ aim was to spread sedition, undermine the Allied war effort, and - given the strategic importance of the Cape of Good Hope sea route - gain naval intelligence. Soon U-boat packs were sent to operate in South African waters, to deadly effect.

Forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal spends his days among the dead, trying to uncover how they died and whether a crime was committed. Trace offers a glimpse on some of the strange death scenes he has attended, like the shallow grave beside a river where a body was found with an amputated finger, and the daily realties of working in a mortuary. He also describes rare cases he has dealt with, including a suspected poisoning that turned out to be a shooting.

When Mosilo Mothepu was appointed CEO of Trillian Financial Advisory, in March 2016, the prospect of being at the helm of a Black-owned financial consultancy was electrifying for a Black woman whose twin passions were transformation and empowering women. Three months later, suffering from depression and insomnia, she resigned with no other job lined up. In October 2016, a written statement handed to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela detailing Trillian’s involvement in state capture was leaked to the media.