In September 2014, Special Assignment exposed an illegal abortion clinic of Dr. William Mogaila at Lister Building in the Johannesburg inner city. Our investigation found that not only were the abortions conducted illegally beyond the regulated six months period, the people employed at his facilities…
This week’s Special Assignment looks at scam syndicates that approach unsuspecting people on the supplier databases of various government departments and pretend to be the respective government departments. The scammers then instruct these suppliers to send three quotes for jobs under a million rand to…
Last year, Special Assignment, exposed a shocking source of student entertainment - university students frequenting night clubs in Hillbrow to participate in live sex shows. Hillbrow is infamous as Johannesburg’s red light district, a place where you can find almost anything. Our investigation revealed that…
A Big Fish Production ‘Illegal’ mining is in the spotlight once again. This week’s episode of Special Assignment illuminates the issue with a revealing documentary that explores the underlying complexities of the unregulated side of gold mining, borne out of perpetual unemployment and a shrinking…
In October 2015 Special Assignment broadcast a documentary titled By their Fruits, the first part of an ongoing investigation into the government’s land reform policies. We focused on Nirwanda - a De Doorns grape farm, nestled in the Western Cape’s Hex River Valley. The farm…
In 1971, 29-year-old Ahmed Timol, a Roodepoort teacher and anti-apartheid activist fell from the 10th floor of the security police building in Johannesburg. The security police soon coined the phrase 'Indians can't Fly'. A police inquest concluded that Timol committed suicide while under interrogation, but…
This week Special Assignment looks at South Africa’s highly covert Witness Protection Programme; designed to protect witnesses whose lives may be at risk because the evidence they supply in court can lead to the convictions of dangerous criminals. David Bruce, an independent researcher in policing,…
n this week’s episode of Special Assignment we visit Lapland, one of the largest informal settlements in Gauteng, situated a few metres from Eldoradopark and Pimville in the south of Johannesburg. The shocking conditions that the poorest of the poor are living in in present…
This week in the second of a two part series on autism, Special Assignment unpacks a controversial intervention for autistic children based on behavioural modification. Opponents of the so-called Applied Behavioral Analysis Approach (ABA) say the intervention is too intense and robotic, demanding long hours…
Autism experts talk of a global epidemic. One in every fifty children is now diagnosed with the disorder. A few decades ago this disorder was almost unheard of. Triggered in seemingly normal babies and young children, Autism Spectrum Disorder can render a child unable to…