Attack on Qatar: Israel’s ever-expanding war | The Listening Post

Summary

---

The Listening Post (Al Jazeera)

Episode: Attack on Qatar: Israel’s Ever-Expanding War

Date: September 13, 2025

Main Theme

This episode examines the seismic geopolitical consequences of Israel’s unprecedented bombing of Qatar—Washington’s close Middle Eastern ally and host of Al Jazeera’s headquarters. The panel analyzes ramifications for the region, the shifting US-Israel relationship, media complicity, and global responses. The episode also features segments on mass protests and media suppression in Nepal, the dangers of exposing corruption in South Africa, and the chilling effect of political violence in the United States following the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

---

1. Israel’s Attack on Qatar: Geopolitical Shock and Media Strategy

Overview (00:59–12:33)

• Opening Context:
  Israel’s strike on Doha breaks established red lines as the first direct attack on a major US ally in the region, home to the largest US military base and Al Jazeera’s headquarters.
• Alleged Target:
  The stated goal was eliminating senior Hamas leadership meeting in Doha, supposedly to discuss a White House-backed ceasefire proposal.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Unprecedented Escalation:

  • Israel has bombed multiple countries (Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran) during its ongoing war on Gaza, but the Qatar strike is uniquely provocative due to Qatar’s close western ties.
  • “To say that Israel crossed a red line when it attacked Qatar this past week would be an understatement.”
    — Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [01:04]

• Qatar’s Role & US Media Narratives:

  • Qatar mediates between Israel and Hamas at US request, but US media often portrays its hosting Hamas leaders as if against US wishes.
  • “There’s a misconception...that Qatar is hosting Hamas against the wishes of the United States, when in fact it’s the contrary.”
    — Al Jazeera Correspondent [04:16]

• Targeting Journalism:

  • Al Jazeera is a rare, steady source of footage from inside Gaza and has lost ten journalists—several apparently targeted by Israel.
  • Attack is partly intended to silence the network’s reporting.
  • “Al Jazeera has been the primary mainstream source of news on the genocide in Gaza...The message this attack on Doha reinforces: Netanyahu is not interested in a ceasefire.”
    — Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [04:56]

• Reactions in Israeli Media:

  • Some triumphalism over striking Doha, mixed with a lack of vision and internal doubts about effectiveness.
  • Israeli press strongly backs government actions, with minor grumbling.
  • “By and large, the Israeli media has been nothing but completely supportive of [the] Israeli administration.”
    — Media Critic [07:43]

• US Involvement and Fallout:

  • Questions swirl about what Donald Trump knew, and when. US portrayed as caught off guard, undermining Trump’s image of control.
  • US official response is mealy-mouthed—opposing the method but not the targets.
  • “President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”
    — White House official statement (via Whistleblower Advocate) [08:58]

• Regional Alliances Unnerved:

  • Arab countries are shaken—Qatar hosts a regional summit, signaling eroded trust in US security guarantees.
  • Qatar’s rhetoric after the attack is “unprecedented in many ways.”

• The “State Terror” Label:

  • Direct naming of the Israeli strike as “state terror.”
  • “This is state terror. That’s what they call it.”
    — Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [10:30]

• Humanitarian Distraction:

  • Attack diverts attention from the escalating crisis in Gaza, where one million Palestinians are ordered to evacuate with nowhere to go.
  • “When I hear the IDF spokesperson tells Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate the city, what can only amount to a war crime...many more will die.”
    — Israeli Media Analyst [10:59]

• Media Complicity:

  • Western media critiqued for “supine stenography” for power, while dissenting voices are silenced.
  • “I actually don’t hold any hope for the way that the press is going to be presenting all of this...supine stenographers of empire.”
    — Media Critic [12:05]

---

Notable Quotes

• “Israel has gone where no one thought it would…The message could not be clearer. Israel is not interested in peace.”
  — Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [01:12]
• “Qatar is a key American ally. For the Israelis to carry out a strike inside Qatar sets it apart from all other places where it has carried out strikes.”
  — Middle East Expert [03:28]
• “How serious can Israel be about peace talks when it keeps targeting those on the other side of the negotiating table?”
  — Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [05:09]

---

2. Nepal: Public Rage, Media Suppression & Political Crisis

Segment: [12:33–14:37]

• Protests explode in Kathmandu over “graft and censorship,” culminating in the torching of parliament and media offices.
• Public anger long fueled by corruption, inequality, and “brazen impunity.” Social media crackdown triggers further unrest.
• Media houses accused by protesters of siding with the establishment.
• The military now patrols the streets, urging dialogue, but Nepal sits “in a tense, unsettled state.”

Notable Quote:
“Instead of containing public anger, the social media ban sent it spiraling. Even after the ban was lifted, protesters flooded Kathmandu’s streets.”
— Meenakshi Ravi (Al Jazeera) [13:30]

---

3. South Africa: The Deadly Cost of Exposing Corruption

Segment: [14:37–24:36]

• Despite the end of apartheid, South Africa is riven by corruption, with whistleblowers and journalists at escalating risk.
• Case Study:
  Investigative reporter exposes public contracts and kickbacks at Independent Development Trust (IDT).
  — Attempts to bribe and silence journalists are caught on video.
• Whistleblower Murders:
  • Nearly 150 local officials killed since 2018 for exposing corruption.
  • The murder of Babita Deokaran, who flagged tens of millions siphoned from hospital tenders, became a galvanizing emblem.
    "Two weeks later she was gunned down outside of her home.”
    — Whistleblower Advocate [21:24]
• Lack of Protections:
  • Laws kept “weak by design” to protect powerful politicians.
  • The public movement for accountability is growing, but trust is eroded, and protections remain inadequate.

Notable Quotes:

• “A story is only ever as strong as its source. And in South Africa, whistleblowers are crucial. But corruption here doesn’t just drain public coffers, it kills.”
  — Investigative Reporter [20:26]
• “If you implement any act to address whistleblower protection, it means that it will be very damaging to them. They will be exposed.”
  — Whistleblower Advocate [22:53]

---

4. Political Violence in the US: The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Segment: [25:07–End]

• Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk is assassinated at a live event, sending shockwaves through US political life.
• Kirk’s divisive rhetoric made him a target; the murder is poised to chill public debate and inflame fears of reciprocal violence across the political spectrum.
• Lax gun laws and inflammatory discourse are highlighted as exacerbating factors.

Notable Quote:
“No matter what you think of Charlie Kirk’s politics, [the threat of violence] is the really disturbing part of this story, the part that may be still to come.”
— Al Jazeera Senior Analyst [25:41]

---

Timestamps: Key Segments

• [00:59] Main focus: Israel’s attack on Qatar and its significance
• [03:28] Why the Qatar attack is a new threshold
• [04:16] Media mischaracterizations of Qatar’s role
• [04:56] Al Jazeera’s coverage and targeting of journalists
• [07:43] Israeli media’s framing and complicity
• [08:11] US government posture, Trump’s response
• [10:30] “State terror” and failure of Israeli objectives
• [10:59] Gaza evacuation order: humanitarian consequences
• [12:33] Transition: Nepal’s protests and media suppression
• [14:37] South Africa: whistleblowing and journalist risk
• [21:24] Babita Deokaran’s assassination
• [25:07] Charlie Kirk’s murder and risk of political violence in the US

---

Summary: Tone & Language

The episode is urgent and critical. The panel deconstructs media narratives, challenges official rationalizations, and foregrounds the bravery—and peril—of witnesses, reporters, and whistleblowers. There is palpable outrage at media complicity, state violence, and systemic corruption, expressed in frank, direct language.

---

For further listening, skip the advertisements, and focus on timestamps indicated above for the core content and interviews.

Transcript

[True Crime Reports Host]

This week on True Crime reports, up to 100,000 children go missing in China every year, a number that links back to the 1970s and the one child policy. This story is about one of those children and the mother who spent decades searching for him. Hear the full story on True Crime Reports. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[The Take Host]

This week on the Take, we're marking.

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

One year since a pair of devastating.

[The Take Host]

Earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria with a new digital interactive. Listen and watch stories of survival, recovery and coping with the grief@al jazeera.com earthquakes Again, that's al jazeera.com earthquakes.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Israel expands its rampage across the Middle east with an attack on Qatar. We examine the fallout in Doha, the region and beyond. Nepal erupts its parliament, torched by demonstrators angered by graft and censorship. Plus South Africa, where whistleblowers have paid the ultimate price for exposing corruption. To say that Israel crossed a red line when it attacked Qatar this past week would be an understatement. Over the past two years, Israel has blasted through multiple red lines, illegally attacking Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, all while waging its genocidal assault on Gaza. But in bombing Qatar, one of Washington's closest non NATO allies, the location of the largest military base in the Middle east, and the headquarters of this network, Al Jazeera, Israel has gone where no one thought it would. The target, according to the Israelis, was Hamas's senior leadership in Doha. The message could not be clearer. Israel is not interested in peace. It is prepared to fight an endless war to buy time for the total destruction of Gaza and the annexation of of the West Bank. And it's a reminder that Israel feels it can act with impunity, shielded by unwavering backing from Washington as well as a complicit media apparatus and whether or not Donald Trump knew of the attack beforehand, this development marks a decisive moment, leaving the Arab world in a state of outrage with all kinds of implications for geopolitics across the Middle East. One could forgive the average news consumer for growing weary from all the headlines over the past two years about Israel razing Gaza, extending its control of the west bank, then bombing country after country across the Middle East. This most recent strike, however, on Doha was different. John this is an absolutely extraordinary moment.

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

That we are witnessing right now.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Israel said it was targeting Hamas officials who had gathered there to discuss a new ceasefire proposal, one that came directly from the White House, which puts this attack on Qatar, the sixth country Israel has bombed through the course of the genocide, in a category of its own.

[Middle East Expert]

There's a couple reasons why this strike is different and a new line that has been crossed. First, Qatar has been playing a central role in mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas. And Israeli officials have traveled to Qatar to engage in these negotiations. And this has been the single most successful path for Israel towards getting Israelis captives out of Gaza. The other part is Qatar is a key American ally. And so for the Israelis to carry out a strike inside Qatar sets it apart from all of the other places where it has carried out strikes over the last couple of years.

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

There's a misconception in the US Media, this idea that Qatar is hosting Hamas against the wishes of the United States, when in fact it's the contrary. Qatar is hosting Hamas at the request of the United States. In fact, what it's doing is playing the role of a broker. One of Israel's biggest complaints against Qatar is its coverage of the genocide in Gaza. Coverage from outlets like Al Jazeera has been very consistent in showing the extent of damage and destruction, destruction taking place on the Gaza Strip. This is a narrative that Israel obviously does not want in the international media. And so targeting Qatar as the host of Al Jazeera is also one of its aims in this war.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Because Al Jazeera has been the primary mainstream source of news on the genocide in Gaza, constantly broadcasting pictures from a war zone that Israel has locked the rest of the global media out of. 10 of the network's journalists have been killed. In many cases, they were targeted by the Israelis. The message this attack on Doha reinforces. Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in a ceasefire in Gaza, and he is willing to go further than ever to prevent one. His forces have targeted Hamas negotiators before. More than a year ago, they killed Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the group's political wing. But the Israelis waited until he had traveled from Doha to Tehran before doing that. This time, they went after Hamas officials in Qatar, a country that has tried to broker a peace deal, but Israel failed to kill any of them. Still, the speaker of the Israeli parliament tweeted, this is a message to the entire Middle East. How serious can Israel be about peace talks when it keeps targeting those on the other side of the negotiating table? When its own diplomats, like Israel's ambassador in Washington, warn that more assassinations are to come.

[Investigative Journalist]

If we didn't get them this time.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

We'Ll get them the next time. A message that, back at home, echoes across Israeli news outlets.

[Israeli Media Analyst]

Reading and watching and listening to Israel media when events like the attack on Doha happens is very Interesting because it's immediately paradoxical. On the one hand, some of them, an historical attack on Doha, eliminating Hamas leadership. There is almost kind of a trinfilist approach to this. But then the doubt starts to creep in.

[Middle East Expert]

Followed by reality setting in. And that reality is that, well, this hasn't solved anything. This hasn't brought us closer to a solution. What is that actually achieving for us? And the absence of any sort of vision for an end game. Here is a theme that has been recurring in Israeli media. There's also a lot of animosity towards Qatar in the Israeli press. The idea that, well, it's about time that Israel took this step.

[Media Critic]

By and large, the Israeli media has been nothing but completely supportive of Israeli administration. There is some tut tutting about the way that it has been done, but people are salivating over how clever this.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Was.

[Media Critic]

Ignoring the fact that they wouldn't be able to do what they're doing without the full hilt support of the United States.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Which is why the questions being asked in the US are what did Donald Trump know about the Netanyahu government's plan to bomb Qatar and when did he know it? Israel would not have done this without the United States knowing. The Israelis claim to have notified Washington just prior to the attack. Yet the Trump administration still seemed unprepared, almost blindsided by it, which had an undermining effect on Donald Trump's credibility, the image he likes to present of being in control.

[Middle East Expert]

It took quite some time for a reaction to come out from the White House, relayed by the press secretary reading a very carefully worded statement.

[Whistleblower Advocate]

President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.

[Middle East Expert]

An attempt by the Trump administration to kind of walk this, this narrow line between legitimizing the targets of the strike while opposing the way the strike was carried out unilaterally.

[Whistleblower Advocate]

Bombing inside Qatar does not advance Israel or America's goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.

[Middle East Expert]

The clear takeaway was that the Trump administration was at least posturing itself as unhappy with what Israel did. And so there's been a lot of reaction to that in the US media. What does President Trump do about this?

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

He clearly was not happy yesterday and Trump has allies in the Arab world. But Israel's attack on one of them, Qatar, has shaken their trust in US security guarantees, assurances those countries have counted on for decades. Hence, a regional summit meeting scheduled in Qatar starting on Sunday, where the Israelis are likely to see a unifying effect on the Region which would concern them, particularly given the kind of rhetoric coming from the Qataris, which is unprecedented in many ways, how direct it is.

[Middle East Expert]

There is like a very minimum level.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Of manners and ethics.

[Investigative Reporter]

This has crossed it.

[True Crime Reports Host]

If you could describe it in one.

[The Take Host]

Word, what would that be?

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

This is state terror. That's what they call it. And worst of all for the Israelis, they did not even succeed in. In killing their intended targets. One thing they did accomplish, they diverted attention away from the horror story that continues to unfold in Gaza, where the Israelis have told roughly 1 million Palestinians to clear out of Gaza City hungry people who have nowhere safe left to go.

[Israeli Media Analyst]

When I hear the IDF spokesperson tells Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate the city, what can only amount to a war crime, people maimed, traumatized, and then you tell them to move to a place that there is no space for 1 million people who is going to provide them with food, water, sanitation, even if they are not killed by the army, many more will die. The only thing is for the international community not just to condemn, but to bring this world to an end. Because what is done to these people is inhumane.

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

Israel's actions, not only is it carrying out its genocide in Gaza, it's routinely bombing Lebanon. It has captured 400 km of Syrian territory. It bombed the Yemeni cabinet last week, it kills the Prime Minister, it has bombed Iran, it has now bombed Qatar. This is a state that is completely out of control. And it surprises me that the narrative still has not caught up.

[Media Critic]

I actually don't hold any hope for the way that the press is going to be presenting all of this. There are a bunch of supine stenographers of empire. And those members of the press that are not supine stenographers of empire have been pushed out of their jobs, have been silenced, smeared. And we see that across the first world. That is what is horrific and horrifying about this situation.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

It has been a seismic political week in Nepal, with protests over corruption and nepotism, the fall of the government there, and the spark that set the country alight. Public outrage over a crackdown on political speech. Meenakshi Ravi has been tracking this story.

[True Crime Reports Host]

The images coming out of Kathmandu this past week were historic. Parliament ablaze, the Supreme Court attacked, media offices torched, and the government toppled. Yet what has unfolded in Nepal goes far beyond a few days of unrest. Public anger has been simmering for years over corruption, joblessness, yawning inequality, and above all, brazen impunity. That anger crystallized just days before the protests in a viral campaign exposing the Lives of politicians. Nepo kids flaunting luxury cars and designer clothes posted alongside images of labourers working abroad in harsh and often dangerous conditions, many coming back home in coffins. The government came down swiftly, giving social media firms a week to register with the Ministry of Communications. Under new rules, most didn't meet the deadline, and 26 platforms, from WhatsApp and Facebook to WeChat, Reddit and YouTube were banned. Instead of containing public anger, the social media ban sent it spiralling. Even after the ban was lifted, protesters flooded Kathmandu's streets. Police opened fire, and chaos quickly took hold. Amongst the many targets of vandalism were the offices of two leading news outlets, Kantipur Media Group and Annapurna Media Network. Nepal's big media houses, owned by powerful private interests, have long been accused of siding with the establishment and underplaying abusers of power. Protesters say their movement was hijacked by violence. And the slogan trending in Nepal is this is not us. The country is now in a tense, unsettled state. The army has stepped in, patrolling streets, guarding parliament and calling for dialogue. A new generation is demanding real change, and the outcome is anything but certain.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Thanks, Meena. It has been more than 30 years now since the end of apartheid in South Africa. Yet racial inequality there has persisted in the democratic era. And while the legacy of apartheid is not going away, the story that gets most of the coverage these days is the rampant corruption under the rule of the African National Congress, the anc. Not without reason. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been siphoned off, ending up in the wrong pockets, fueling poverty, widening inequality, eroding public trust. And exposing that corruption can come at a cost. Journalists face intimidation, but often it's their sources, whistleblowers, who pay the ultimate price. A number of them have been murdered, revealing how a democratic country has failed those brave enough to come forward with the truth. The Listening Post's Nick Muirhead now on corruption, the people exposing it, and the price that can be paid by those blowing the whistle in South Africa.

[Investigative Reporter]

Last month, on a wine farm just outside of Cape Town, a journalist met with the subjects of his investigation. Pitti Louis Mayburg had already exposed how a public entity called the Independent development trust, the IDT, had awarded part of a government tender amounting to 836 million rand, nearly US$50 million to a ghost company. His reporting then led him to the trust's CEO, Doboko Malaka, who appeared to be getting a kickback from a different tender. When Melaka got wind of the story, she, along with the IDT spokesman Pasha Maholane set up a meeting with Mayber.

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

I wanted to. I don't want you to be writing about it.

[Investigative Reporter]

What they didn't know was that the journalist was going to film it. Let's start with your decision to secretly film the meeting with Malaka and Makolani. What was it about your interactions with them that made you suspicious?

[Investigative Journalist]

I was out of the blue. Contacted by the IDT spokesperson Makolane in early June 2025 this year. And the very nature of the conversation indicated to me very clearly that this was not going to be a normal journalist, the spokesperson interaction. He said that he had very sensitive things to discuss with me. He said there were mutual matters that we could explore. I knew that this was heading to a situation, that some sort of offer was going to be made. Okay, let's firm it up. So what did you bring today?

[Investigative Reporter]

What they were trying to bury was Mayberg's next revelation. The IDT had awarded a tender to a businessman named Colin Mashawana for a scheme that was meant to create jobs for low income workers. As the IDT money began to roll in, Mashawana started funding the construction of a new house for Malika in an upmarket Johannesburg estate.

[Investigative Journalist]

I think that those monies were used for the house. So you know. You don't want any?

[Al Jazeera Correspondent]

No, I don't.

[Investigative Reporter]

But while the CEO got a luxury home, the workers of the scheme went unpaid for months.

[Investigative Journalist]

So nobody in this room got a payment in November. Nobody got a payment in the city.

[Investigative Reporter]

To stop the publication of such a damaging revelation. The IDT execs tried to bribe Mayberg with around $3,500 in cash. And when the journalist couldn't be bought, they went off to his journalism.

[Investigative Journalist]

So there is an effort underway to create a alternative narrative to the one that we're putting out. One in which our reporting is put under suspicion.

[True Crime Reports Host]

The allegations of corruption, as I have.

[The Take Host]

Said, they have been coming for the whole year now through Daily Maverick, but they have not been proven.

[Investigative Journalist]

But also there has been a urgent interdict to bar us from reporting on any of these matters involving Colin Mashawana, the businessperson.

[The Take Host]

Mashawana's bid failed and the court has given the Daily Maverick the green light.

[True Crime Reports Host]

To get continue reporting on its investigation on corruption allegations.

[Investigative Journalist]

So there are very real efforts underway to prohibit our work and to stop us from further investigating these matters.

[The Take Host]

South Africans were able to see corruption on video where a person is placing money in front of the journalists. And we're very grateful that Peter had the presence of Mind to set up cameras to record the entire thing because there are so many people who often don't believe that people are corrupt when they get exposed in the news.

[Investigative Reporter]

Is a former newspaper editor turned politician. Last year he ran for president on an anti corruption ticket but wasn't elected. However, for the first time in the democratic era, the African National Congress lost its majority. Damaged in no small part by the corruption that has plagued its rule. The party was forced into a coalition.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

Our people have spoken.

[Investigative Reporter]

Under the new government of national unity, Zebe was elected as chair of the committee on public Accounts and tasked with rooting out corruption.

[The Take Host]

Look, corruption is a cancer. I mean in every country you can describe it that way. But in South Africa it is particularly so because there are so many poor people. We need to be able to use every cent that the government collects efficiently, which means we need to get the best value for money that we can get. And corruption takes that away.

[Investigative Journalist]

We definitely have unresolved structural issues because of apartheid. It's a blight on this country's history. And many of those issues need urgent redress. But we as investigative journalists have a duty to hold power to account. And those in power now have a very real opportunity to direct billions of rands in funding to the very cause of redressing some of those past ills. Instead of doing that because of industrial scale corruption, those funds are being diverted to private pockets.

[Investigative Reporter]

A story is only ever as strong as its source. And in South Africa, whistleblowers are crucial. But corruption here doesn't just drain public coffers, it kills. Nearly 150 municipal workers have reportedly been murdered since 2018, most of them for blowing the whistle on corruption. The case that has come to symbolize the war on whistleblowers in South Africa is that of Babita Deokaran, an official in the Gauteng health department. In 2021, Dear Curran identified that over a four month period at the Tempiso Hospital there were suspicious tenders amounting to R850 million. Nearly US$50 million. Money that should have been spent on health care for some of the most vulnerable people in South Africa. So she froze the payments and blew the whistle, knowing full well as one of the last messages she ever sent shows the danger she was in.

[Whistleblower Advocate]

When she was performing her due diligence with the transactions. She picked up an absorbent amount of money going into the Timbiso Hospital hospital and she reported this to her supervisor, the corruption that was occurring within the health department. And a report was submitted by her to the supervisor and requested an investigation. And yeah, two weeks later she was gunned down outside of her home.

[Investigative Reporter]

A new book by investigative journalist Jeff Wicks who used evidence dear Quran and recovered along with his own reporting showed that the looting attempt hospital was over a two year period closer to $130 million. And there's very little evidence that of the 2.3 billion rand spent by Timbiso Hospital that anything was actually delivered. He also exposed glaring failures in the investigation of Diacaran's assassination. Four years on, the hitmen are behind bars. The masterminds remain at large. Wics and activists like Devotion Mudlivira are demanding stronger protections for whistleblowers.

[Whistleblower Advocate]

As I stand here, I worry, I worry for whistleblowers putting the national interest first.

[Investigative Reporter]

Because as Mudli Vera puts it, the current laws in South Africa aren't just inadequate, they are kept weak by design. Why is the system so deeply flawed? And why does it seem like there's no political world to fix it?

[Whistleblower Advocate]

The answer I can give you is self preservation. There are a number of instances where high level politicians, high level government officials are involved in fraud and corruption. And if you implement any act to address whistleblower protection, it means that it will be very damaging to them. They will be exposed.

[The Take Host]

Let me share an example with you. We busy with an inquiry into possible corruption amounting to billions of rent. So the police Crime Intelligence Unit does a threat assessment on myself and they determined that I should get police protection. That was three months ago. I still don't have it. I'm chair of the most important public finances committee in parliament. I battle to get protection. What chance does an ordinary South African have? I am convinced that for whistleblowers we leave them on their own and it's done deliberately to make sure that the corruption continues.

[Investigative Reporter]

In 1992, on the cusp of democracy, anti apartheid hero Chris Harney issued a warning. What I fear is that the liberators emerge as elitists who drive around in Mississippi. Mercedes Benzes used the resources of this country to live in palaces and gather riches. Six months later, Khani was assassinated by a right wing extremist. He never lived to see his fear come true. Thirty years on, corruption has hollowed out the state, draining resources from the people the ANC fought so hard to liberate. And those who resist, be they journalists or whistleblowers, are met with bribes or bullets.

[Whistleblower Advocate]

It feels that we are, we're not winning the fight against fraud and corruption in South Africa. And it feels that our voices are not being heard. As South African citizens. So what are we trying to say? Are we trying to say that we need to keep quiet and be silenced through this and not speak out and expose these issues? I don't think we are really living the South Africa that we want to live in.

[Al Jazeera Senior Analyst]

And finally, Charlie Kirk, one of America's most powerful conservative influencers, was murdered this past week in front of thousands of students at a public event on a college campus in Utah. Kirk founded Turning Point in 2012, a youth movement that mushroomed in size and came to hold significant sway over Republican politics. His sometimes bigoted views, constantly divisive rhetoric, and conspiracy theories won him millions of followers and apparently turned him into a political target. The assassination has chilled public figures and influencers in the US and not just those on the right. Their opposite numbers on the liberal side now have reason to fear some kind of revenge attack might target them. And in a country with so much inflammatory political language coming out online, a place with such lax gun laws, those fears are not misplaced. And that, no matter what you think of Charlie Kirk's politics, is the really disturbing part of this story, the part that may be still to come.