As calls grow from political parties like the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the African Transformation Movement for judges to undergo lifestyle audits, questions are being raised about accountability within South Africa’s judiciary. How do these proposals balance with the need to protect judicial independence?

Guest: Mbekezeli Benjamin - research and advocacy officer at Judges Matter 

Guest: Prof. Barney Pityana - Anti-apartheid stalwart

ActionSA has accused the Independent Police Investigative Directorate of deliberately delaying the release of its much-anticipated report into the conduct of the Presidential Protection Unit following the 2022 farm robbery involving President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Guest: Michael Beaumont - ActionSA National Chairperson

Africa in Focus with Advocate Sipho Mantula, Researcher: Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs: Unisa

1.    Angola – Luanda 

Dozens of people have died from floods following heavy rains in recent days in the Angolan capital, Luanda, and other areas across the country.

Emergency services have reported about 39 deaths in Luanda and the central city of Benguela, with more than 51,000 people affected.

The flooding also damaged thousands of homes and public infrastructure, including roads and bridges, fallen trees, and electric poles. The collapse of a bridge pillar on the Hâlo River disrupted traffic between Benguela and Huambo provinces.

2.    Djibouti-Djibouti City

Djibouti decides 2026

 Djibouti's leader, Ismail Omar Guelleh, is expected to win a presidential election on Friday, extending his 27-year rule of the highly strategic Horn of Africa nation.

Guelleh, 78, is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders and has ruled the nation of around one million people with an iron fist since 1999.

3.    Lesotho – Maseru

Passport Crisis in Lesotho

Ministry suspends passport services, but people are desperate and still queuing in Maseru

•      The Lesotho Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended passport services, citing the need to clear a huge backlog.
•      But crowds of people are still queuing at the Maseru passport office.
•      Some are migrant workers who say that without a passport, they may lose their jobs in South Africa.

4.    In our historical archives, it was on this day, 9 April 1999, when the Niger president, Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, was assassinated by his own presidential guard while boarding a plane in Niamey, the capital city of Niger. Immediately after the incident, communication lines, radio stations, and borders were closed.

• Oil falls below 100 dollars on US-Iran two week ceasefire

• 2. Global airlines continue to hike fares and cut flights on rising jet fuel prices (yes, oil has eased but has the damage been done??)
• 3. Markets update - reflecting on how stocks closed, many indicies closed before Trumps deadline

Timothy Walker - Senior Researcher for Maritime Security, Institute for Security Studies 

Built In Mzansi - Cape Bio, a pioneer who played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping develop the first locally produced PCR tests

Guest: Daniel Ndima - Cape Bio, Chief Executive Officer 

Guest: Thabiso Makwela - Deputy President at the Progressive Forces of South Africa 

Guest: Prof Loren Landau - Senior Researcher with Wits University's African Centre for Migration & Society 

Guest: Sharon Ekambaram - Head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights 

KwaZulu-Natal's Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs says that it has started operations to deal with the latest floods that caused a lot of damage to property and infrastructure

Guest: Senzelwe Mzila - Spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs 

Guest: Prof. Barney Pityana - anti-apartheid stalwart 

The Reality Check: Do democratic states fail?