Walter Sisulu University student Sibongile Mani has been sentenced to five years in prison. East London Regional Court Magistrate Twanette Olivier found Mani guilty of stealing R818 000 of the funds that she received from NSFAS. She was accidentally paid an amount of R14 million instead of R1,400 in June 2017 by Cape Town-based company, Intellimali. 

Magistrate Olivier said 585 students who relied on NSFAS funds to study at WSU would have been prejudiced if the money had not been returned 

GUESTS: Michael Bagraim, Attorney @ Bagraims Attorneys

We hear from the Active Citizens Movement on why they are calling for the Judicial Service Commission’s code of conduct to be amended. The movement started a petition on Change.org after interviews in February for the appointment of the country’s next chief justice – they are now demanding that the JSC must include a requirement that says “questions asked during interviews must be restricted to those considered appropriate for determining a judicial candidate’s eligibility”.

Guest: Fozia Madhi, Lawyer by profession & Active Citizens Movement Exco Member

Prince Simakade Zulu, the first-born son of the late AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu has written a letter through his lawyers requesting President Cyril Ramaphosa not to proceed with preparations for the pending coronation of King Misuzulu KaZwelithini. Ramaphosa recently issued a certificate recognising King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the rightful heir of AmaZulu nation throne, a step that set in motion the preparations for the coronation.

Guest: Prince Mandla Zulu, Spokesperson of Prince Simakade

Health department says they are concerned that over 90 000 doses of the Pfizer vaccines will expire tomorrow. But what is even more concerning i guess is the fact that South Africa has seen a slow uptake in vaccinations with only some 30% of the country’s population fully inoculated against Covid-19 – and if this trend continues - the department has warned that the next expiry date would be in May.

Guest: Doctor Tshwale, Media Liaison Officer for the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla

For the first time in U.S history, President Joe Biden has signed legislation that designates lynching as a federal hate crime, more than 100 years after such legislation was first proposed. The Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act is named after the black teenager whose killing in Mississippi in the summer of 1955 became a galvanising moment in the civil rights era. Under the new law, perpetrators of a lynching - death or injury resulting from a hate crime, will face up to 30 years in jail. Joining us to explain how this new law will be implemented is…..

Guest on the line (US): Tricia “CK” Hoffler, Civil rights lawyer & CEO of The CK Hoffler Firm, an Atlanta-based law firm

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has officially received four reports from the South African Law Reform Commission which propose recommendations for law reform in sexual offences, specifically pornography and children, the practice of Ukuthwala, legal fees and prescription periods. The reports were handed over by Justice Jody Kollapen, the chairperson of the South African Law Reform Commission. 

GUEST: Maite Modiba - Researcher at the South African Law Reform Commission

MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development in Gauteng, Parks Tau joins us to outline the objectives of the Township Economic Development Bill that was recently enacted into law. Tau says this bill is a game-changer that will change how townships are regulated and governed so that they become areas of employment-creating commercial activity.

Guest: Parks Tau, MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development in Gauteng

The rate of unemployment in South Africa has risen to yet another historic record as 278 000 more people joined the ranks of the unemployed. Statistician General Risenga Maluleke released the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021, and the results show that the number of employed persons increased by 262 000 to 14.5 million, and the number of unemployed persons also increased by 278 000 to 7.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter of 2021. 

Could this be an indication that jobs are not being created in key traditional sectors of the economy? Does this speak to the challenge of job retention due to de-industrialization in the South African economy as depicted in declining share of key traditional sectors’ contribution to GDP? 

GUEST:  Dr Pali Lehohla - Former Statistician General and Professor of Practice at UJ 

Yesterday, the Pretoria High Court ordered government to move the country's analogue television switch-off date back by 3 months. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has welcomed the ruling and pleaded with those opposed to the move to accept the ruling of the court and desist from further attempts to derail the process of digital migration which will release the much-anticipated high frequency spectrum.

Guest: William Bird, Director of Media Monitoring Africa

We look at the Amnesty International Report for 2021/22 that assesses the State of the World’s Human Rights. The report has found that “Covid-19 should have been a decisive wake-up call to deal with inequality and poverty. Instead, we have seen deeper inequality and greater instability in Africa exacerbated by global powers, especially rich countries, who failed to ensure that big pharma distributed vaccines equally between states to ensure the same level of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Guest: Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary General