The Republic Tapes

Nathi Mthethwa died far from home — in a Paris hotel room, in a silence that has left a country asking more questions than there are answers. Was it despair? Was it pressure? Was it something darker? And what does his death say about the political generation that shaped South Africa’s democracy — and then struggled to protect it?

In this episode, we trace Mthethwa’s journey from underground youth activist to cabinet minister, from the corridors of state power to the controversies that shadowed him: Marikana. Crime Intelligence. The Madlanga Commission. The “monumental flag.” And, ultimately, the diplomatic post in France that felt less like honour and more like exile.

But this is not an episode about scandal. It’s about lessons.

What happens when liberation memory becomes a shield for wrongdoing?
 What is the emotional cost of surviving a political system built on secrecy and factional loyalty?
 And what does accountability look like when a crucial witness is no longer alive to speak?

We ask:

• Why do so many political stories in South Africa end in silence instead of truth?
• What does Mthethwa’s death reveal about the unfinished work of post-apartheid democracy?
• And can a country heal if its history keeps disappearing before it is confronted?

This is an episode about power — how it is used, how it is protected, and how, sometimes, it consumes the people who hold it.

Instagram: @afterfreedomsa

tiktok: @afterfreedom

email: [email protected]

Produced By:

Sthembiso Matenjwa

Tatum Damons

After Freedom SA (Pty) Ltd

She was unarmed. Walking into her office in Paris.
 A South African exile who dared to expose an international arms trade.
 And in seven gunshots, Dulcie September was silenced—right outside the ANC mission where she worked.

But who pulled the trigger?
 And perhaps more importantly—who looked the other way?

In this episode, we unravel the chilling assassination of anti-apartheid activist Dulcie September. From her quiet beginnings as a teacher in Cape Town to her relentless investigations into French arms deals with the apartheid regime, Dulcie became a threat—not just to Pretoria, but to powerful networks across Europe.

What we uncover is not just a murder, but a web of complicity, cover-ups, and the uncomfortable truth: that even within liberation movements, voices like hers—Black, female, principled—were often dismissed, diminished… or disappeared.

Was she paranoid?
 Or was she right all along?

This is not just a story of political murder. It’s a story about the erasure of women. The cost of speaking out. And what happens when justice is never served.

instagram: @afterfreedomsa

tiktok: @afterfreedom

email: [email protected]

Produced By:

Sthembiso Matenjwa

Tatum Damons

After Freedom SA (Pty) Ltd

Was Samora Machel’s 1986 plane crash a tragic aviation accident—or a Cold War assassination? In this episode, we explore the life and controversial death of Mozambique’s first president, a revolutionary leader and Pan-African icon whose fight against colonialism and apartheid made him a powerful symbol in Southern African politics.

Through declassified reports, conspiracy theories, and eyewitness accounts, we unpack the competing narratives: Was Machel killed by South Africa’s apartheid regime? Betrayed by his own party? Or caught in a geopolitical crossfire between the Soviet Union, the CIA, and Western interests?

This episode is a deep dive into Cold War Africa, political assassinations, liberation movements, and the legacy of one of the continent’s most complex figures.

instagram: @afterfreedomsa

tiktok: @afterfreedom

email: [email protected]

Produced By:

Sthembiso Matenjwa

Tatum Damons

After Freedom SA (Pty) Ltd

In one of the most iconic photographs in South African history, a teenage boy carries the lifeless body of Hector Pieterson through the streets of Soweto. That boy was Mbuyisa Makhubo — and shortly after that moment, he disappeared.

This episode traces the haunting mystery of Mbuyisa’s life after the photo: the surveillance, the exile, the letters from Nigeria, and the trail that goes cold without answers. But it’s also about more than one young man — it’s about what happens to people who become symbols, and how a country forgets those it once celebrated.

Blending biography, memory, and political analysis, we explore the broader story of June 16, trauma, exile, and the cost of carrying the struggle on your shoulders.

Produced By:

Sthembiso Matenjwa

Tatum Damons

After Freedom SA (Pty) Ltd

Not a trailer, not a teaser; just a glimpse into our mentality when creating the show