This Is Politics SA Podcast is the home of unfiltered conversations about power, people, and the country we’re all trying to build.
Hosted by Justice malala and veteran political commentator Mondli Makhanya, the show cuts through the noise with insight, honesty, and the kind of chemistry you only get when hosts actually love the conversation.
No scripts. No spin. Just two voices breaking down South Africa’s political reality in a way that’s sharp, accessible, and unexpectedly entertaining. From big-picture analysis to the small details that reveal everything, this podcast brings you closer to the stories shaping the nation.
If you’re tired of shallow takes, tired of confusing headlines, or just want a space that treats politics like it matters welcome home.
This Is Politics Podcast — where clarity meets conversation.
South Africans Are Angry - So Why Don’t They Vote?
With South Africa just one month away from local government elections, the biggest question may not be who wins but whether South Africans still believe winning an election can actually change their lives.
Voter apathy is growing, but is South Africa really becoming apathetic or are people simply angry and losing faith in the political system?Turnout has declined over the years, while frustration over electricity, water, jobs, crime and basic services continues to fuel protests and public anger.
Justice Malala and Mondli Makhanya unpack the tension between **political apathy and political anger**, and ask what happened to the belief that voting could make tomorrow better. They examine whether the ANC's long dominance has damaged faith not only in government, but in democracy itself and whether new political forces can restore that trust.
Then, the debate over the return of the death penalty raises an even bigger question: why are South Africans increasingly turning towards extreme solutions? Is it simply anger about crime, or is it a symptom of a state that people no longer believe is doing its job?
From voter apathy and local government to crime, the death penalty, immigration and the responsibilities of citizens between elections, this is a conversation about something bigger than November's vote:
Do South Africans still believe politics can change anything?
#ThisIsPolitics #SouthAfrica #SouthAfricanPolitics #VoterApathy #LocalElections #Democracy #Voting #DeathPenalty
17 Sept 2026
SA Politics Heats Up
With local government elections less than 50 days away, the political temperature is rising.
Phumi Mashigo sits down with Justice Malala and Mondli Makhanya to unpack the ANC’s candidate-list chaos, the DA’s missed opportunities, MK’s rise in KwaZulu-Natal and whether the EFF has lost its political edge. Plus: Ramaphosa’s leadership in Africa, Trump and the US midterms, Europe’s shift to the right — and what all of it tells us about the changing face of political leadership.
3 Sept 2026
The ANC is losing the ability to even lead itself
The ANC is facing one of its biggest political tests yet and the cracks are becoming impossible to ignore.
In this episode of This Is Politics, Justice Malala and Mondli Makhanya unpack the growing battle between the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP), as the two historic Alliance partners prepare to compete against each other in the upcoming local government elections.
Why is the ANC struggling to finalise candidates? Has the party lost the ability to lead itself? And could the SACP breakaway take enough votes from the ANC to make a real difference in tightly contested municipalities?
The gents also examine South Africa’s worsening crisis of confidence in the police. New victims-of-crime survey findings suggest many South Africans simply don't report crimes because they no longer believe the police will do anything about them. What does that tell us about the true scale of crime and the relationship between citizens and the state?
Finally, they discuss Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s prolonged absence from public view and ask a broader question: should South Africans be asking more openly about the health and capacity of the leaders responsible for running the country?
From the ANC-SACP split to political paralysis and the growing public distrust of the state, this is another big conversation about where South Africa is heading.
**This Is Politics** with Justice Malala and Mondli Makhanya.
#ThisIsPolitics #SouthAfrica #ANC #SACP #SouthAfricanPolitics #LocalElections #ANCvsSACP #Crime #SouthAfricaPolitics
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