All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2025E14.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

Hello and welcome to Global Eye
from the BBC World Service.

In the next half hour,
we'll bring you some of the best

of our global investigative
journalism and reportage.

I'm Nomsa Maseko, the BBC's
Southern Africa Correspondent,

and I'm based here in South Africa,

which recently hosted leaders from
around the world for the G20 summit.

Here in Johannesburg,
South Africa's economic heartland,

the Government has been
giving the city a makeover,

filling in potholes,

fixing traffic lights
and painting buildings

in preparation for the summit.

Yet beneath the fresh coat of paint,

the gathering has become
a lightning rod for anger,

exposing deep-seated
social dysfunction,

racial divisions
and economic deprivation

that many residents feel
have been ignored for far too long.

Later in the programme,

BBC Eye investigates the reality
just a few miles from the G20 venue,

where people live
in derelict buildings,

often hijacked by criminal gangs

and in conditions
unfit for human habitation.

And President Trump
refused to attend the G20

due to the widely discredited claim

Afrikaners are the victims
of white genocide.

Are South Africa's
white minority

really victims of large-scale
killings and land grabs?

I mean, you see a lot of things

in the last few years
that's been brutal -

murder and torture
and all that kind of stuff.

I don't want that to happen with us.

Here in South Africa's
biggest and richest city,

there's always been
a stark contrast

between the haves and the have-nots.

Shimmering skyscrapers have long
stood alongside festering slums.

And, of course,
the apartheid regime

added a brutal racial dimension
to the economic divides.

South Africa hadn't hosted
an international event on the scale

of the G20 since
the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Officials here hoped that the summit
would allow the country to champion

issues vital to developing nations,

making borrowing cheaper
for countries

that pay two to four times more
in interest than richer nations,

and persuading leaders
to scale up spending

on climate disaster resilience.

But despite attempts to downplay it,

the meeting was dominated

by Donald Trump's very public
decision not to attend.

The contrast between
global diplomacy and local reality

is stark in Johannesburg itself.
Its central business district,

once a symbol of wealth
and power during the apartheid era,

fell into decline
after big businesses moved out.

Over time, gangs moved in.

BBC Eye has gained unprecedented
access to these buildings

to uncover a story of organised
crime, political corruption

and squalid living conditions
that shame this city.

Here's Ayanda Charlie's report.

Johannesburg's inner city
stands on the brink of collapse.

Once a symbol of ambition, it has
become a wasteland of neglect.

In an area of only
seven square miles,

there are hundreds of derelict
or abandoned buildings.

A vast number of these buildings
are infested with crime...

They hide here.

..and are unfit
for human habitation.

Can the City of Johannesburg
be saved?

Or is it an impossible dream?

Ever since I've lived in Joburg,

a lot of what I would hear
is that, you know,

"Be careful when
you're in the inner city."

You know, "Watch your back, keep
your belongings close to yourself

"because you might most likely
get pickpocketed."

Uh... Or mugged.

There's a lot of criminal activity,

drug use, lots of homelessness
in the inner city.

It's not a place you go mindlessly.

We are not going to be apologetic.
Once we say building is hijacked,

it means a crime has been committed.

Under South Africa's constitution,

everyone has a right
to adequate housing.

So, basically, today we disconnect
hijacked buildings

across Jeppestown area.

But for as long as I can remember,

the city has been spiralling
out of control.

See what you found here.
The needles.

We're driving into Hillbrow,
a no-go zone for most people...

SIREN WAILS

..where the murder rate ranks
in the top 1% in the world.

We're headed to a notorious
city-owned abandoned building

called Vannin Court.

All right, I lead the way,
you go behind me?

INDISTINCT CHAT
Perfect.

Around 300 people
live in Vannin Court.

The people are running away
from me immediately.

Good, thank you.

One young man has agreed
to show me around.

Take me from floor to floor
and show me around. Yeah.

No water? No water. No electricity.

OK.

Bedroom.

Lounge, OK.

I'm taken to an apartment
on the ground floor.

So this is your room.

Oh, this is your kitchen area?
Yeah, it's my kitchen.

The municipality
is saying anything about...

So, why don't you have water? What
have they said? Let me ask you that.

OK.

OK.

As this building
is owned by the city,

under normal circumstances, it would
receive income from tenants' rent.

So you pay how much?

Oh. How does that work?
How come you don't have to pay?

So you charge people
to live in this unit?

Another guy collect the money?

Yes. That's what
I'm trying to understand.

Hijacked buildings like this one
are a common phenomenon

in which occupants take control
of a building

and collect rent for themselves.

So this is the toilet?

But there's no plumbing system.

Or does it work?

So everything flushes down properly?

The basement, once a car park,

is down these stairs,
but no-one wants to take me.

So this is the basement.

Human waste is literally
filling the basement up...

So that's the smell?

..overflowing
into the adjacent alleyway.

The sewage situation
is worse than I thought,

but I've walked past, driven past
those parts of the city

so many times, and you can smell it.

But these are permanent
broken sewage systems and pipes.

And people live there permanently.

So the only time you
get attention from the city council

is when it's election time.

Nelson Khetani
lives just a mile away

in a building owned by the city
called MBV1.

This building is a rare example
of temporary accommodation

provided when the city did
evict people from another building.

So this used to be,
like, a laundry area?

Wow.

Human waste.

So what happened here?
Did the pipes...?

So what do you do?

The shocking thing is,
Nelson and his fellow residents

were moved here way back in 2008
from a building called San Jose.

He still pays rent to the city,

but his so-called
temporary accommodation

has continued for 17 years.

If you were to compare
this building to San Jose,

would you say
this is better or worse?

Residents like Nelson
feel abandoned

and are left to rue
the city's broken promises.

When you ask the city
where the permanent accommodation

you were supposed to be moved into
is, what do they say?

City has no money. There's no money.

According to a recent report,

more than three-quarters
of so-called bad buildings

have no water, sanitation,

refuse removal or electricity.

But how did we get here?

Johannesburg, The City of Gold,

has always been known
as the financial

and industrial centre
of South Africa.

But by the 1990s, the inner city
was in steady decline,

barely sustaining the white minority
it had once been designed for.

When apartheid fell, Johannesburg
became legally open to all races.

A huge population influx,
combined with underinvestment

and the departure
of wealthy landlords,

placed immense pressure
on the inner city.

Buildings fell into disrepair

and became havens
for illegal activity.

When I started making this film,

I thought it was about
abandoned buildings,

but I now see
it's about abandoned people,

and I've come to realise that
when the state becomes neglectful,

that's when criminals can prosper.

We're on our way right now
to meet a man who says

that he used to be
a building hijacker.

Now, this is the first time
he's ever told his story,

and he's agreed to speak with us on
condition that we hide his identity.

So how did you get into the building
hijacking business?

Mm.

When you were in that building,

was there ever any notice
of eviction?

Led to anything.

And then what happened?
If they're not willing...

And you would have to
go and intimidate them, scare them.

What else?

You were involved in the drug trade.

You were involved
in hijacking buildings.

You did cause misery
to a lot of people.

So how do you feel about that?

After the interview, this
ex-hijacker told me he left the gang

because he discovered
they were plotting to kill him.

He also shared his relief
at leaving a criminal life

and moving out of the city.

The city council spokesman,
Nthatisi Modingoane,

has agreed to meet me
at the Moth Building

to discuss some of these claims.

The council did manage
to clear this city-owned building

in December 2024, evacuating
the occupants on safety grounds.

But it's the only evacuation they've
completed in the last ten months.

So far in our investigation,
we've heard claims from people

that there are very concerning
criminal activity,

high-level criminal activity there,

like the drug trade,
in some of these hijacked buildings.

What is the city doing to crack down
on those criminal forces?

Yes. In some of the buildings,

some of the things that we see
there are scary, to say the least.

But we will intensify
our operations

and make sure that
we clean the city.

There have been operations
where we found people with drugs.

We have found people
with illegal weapons.

And those cases
are currently sitting with

the South African Police Services
for further investigation.

We've also heard claims

that certain parts of
the Government and the police,

in fact, are being bribed
and are somehow colluding

with criminals
and building hijackers

in the city to stall
the justice system, essentially.

What do you know about that?

In our investigation thus far,

we have not had any physical
reports or credible reports

that seems to suggest that
there might be any wrongdoing.

Under South Africa's constitution,

in theory, everyone has the right
to adequate housing,

but the city needs to do far more
to turn that into a reality.

We contacted the Johannesburg police

and asked them if they were aware
of any bribes,

intimidatory tactics
or even murders by criminals

to prevent officers
from carrying out their duties.

They did not reply.

We also asked the city council

about cutting off
the water supply at Vannin Court.

They did not respond.

Apartheid - the almost 50 years

of institutionalised
racial segregation has left

a deep and bitter legacy
across this nation.

Under that political system,

marriages were banned
across racial lines,

many skilled and semi-skilled jobs
were reserved for white people,

and black people were forced to live

in what were called
townships and homelands.

The shift from minority rule
to democracy in 1994

left many white South Africans
struggling to adjust.

Some claim they are now being
driven out by violent crime,

economic decline and the looming
threat of land expropriation.

Among some right-wing groups,

this narrative has been adopted
as proof of a white genocide,

an assertion that has repeatedly
been debunked

by the facts and statistics,

and rejected by
South Africa's Government

and senior Afrikaner officials.

Since he returned
to the White House,

the narrative has also been promoted
by President Trump.

As he closed America's door
to almost all refugees,

he opened it for one group
in particular -

white South Africans.

For BBC Eye,
Claire Mawisa has been following

a group of white South Africans
caught in the storm of ideology,

fear and migration politics,

as she asks what truth, if any,
lies behind the rhetoric.

It's a genocide that's taking place

that you people don't want
to write about,

but it's a terrible thing
that's taking place.

And farmers are being killed.

They happen to be white,

but whether they're white or black
makes no difference to me.

I'm about to sign some
very important executive orders

of our new administration.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In February 2025, Donald Trump
signed an executive order

offering white Afrikaners
refugee status in America.

He claimed Afrikaner land
was being taken

by the South African Government
without compensation.

A month later, the US cut most
foreign aid to South Africa.

I've come to the town of Brits,
just an hour's drive from Pretoria.

I want to meet some of the people

who are hoping to leave
South Africa,

to try and understand
what is pushing them to leave.

Hi, Carlien. Hi, nice to meet you.
Claire. I'm very well, thank you.

Hello, hello. And you must be...?
James. Nice to meet you, James.

My name is Claire.

Thank you so much
for having me, guys.

Carlien is applying for
refugee status to the United States

for herself and her three
youngest children.

Carlien and her family came
to Brits after the farm

they were living on
was broken into and robbed.

Fortunately, they weren't at home.

Now 17, Stephen has almost
finished school.

I want to go work in America
to do farming.

I want to go in farming
because I love farming.

It's a passion of mine since small.

Why didn't you want to become
a farmer in South Africa?

It's dangerous here
to become a farmer.

And it's...

It's just not the...
It's not worth it

to become a farmer here
and risk it to get maybe attacked.

Carlien has been unemployed
for ten years.

She scrapes a living
selling clothes online.

The situation with our crime,

every morning
when they go to school,

I worry -
I worry, is something happening?

Are they going to be OK?

We don't know, tonight. Someone...
Someone can break in tonight.

I'm on my way to a farm
in Free State Province.

I'm meeting farm manager Marthinus.

I mean, you see a lot of things that

in the last few years that's been
brutally murdered

and tortured
and all that kind of stuff.

I mean, you don't want to...
I don't want that to happen with us.

Marthinus is speaking
from bitter experience.

Both his wife's grandfather
and his own grandfather

were murdered in farm attacks.

They came into my grandpa's bedroom.

He had a shotgun next to his bed.

And then when he grabbed the shotgun
and he wants to aim him,

the guy took the shotgun.

I think he was 72 or 70 years old
or something like that.

In February, Marthinus applied
to become a refugee

in the United States.

He and his family
have been interviewed

by the State Department
and are now awaiting the verdict.

Does the thought of leaving
South Africa,

does that break your heart?
Does that make you sad?

Yes, that makes me really sad.

I mean, I've been born
and raised here,

you know,
but I'm prepared to do that,

to get a better life
for my wife and children.

Because I don't
want to be slaughtered

and be hanged or whatever, you know?

No, I don't want that.

No nation state
or international court,

and none of South Africa's
political parties,

including those
representing Afrikaners,

claim there is a genocide
in South Africa.

But it seems that murders on farms
are fuelling a conspiracy theory.

I want to find out how prevalent
they really are.

Are white farmers more at risk
of facing violence or crime

on their farms than black farmers?

I will not say it's only
the white farmers.

There's also black farmers
and black workers

and foremen and people residing
on farms get targeted.

Over 30 years after apartheid,
72% of privately owned farmland

is still white-owned.

Despite the land reform laws,

no white properties have been
forcibly seized by the Government.

Black or white, many of the farmers

in this area have experienced
a violent robbery.

I'm on my way to meet Catherine.

She has a farm and a polo school.

Originally from England,

she came to South Africa
25 years ago

and fell in love with the place.

She's lived here ever since.

I'm Claire. Yes.
Catherine, nice to meet you.

One night in 2021, men came
uninvited onto her property.

Well, I thought I was going to die
that evening.

But, you know,
they'd actually come to steal.

That's why they were here, to steal.

Do you think it's accurate to say

that white Afrikaners
or white farm owners

are being intentionally attacked

because they are white Afrikaners?

The reason why farm attacks happen
is essentially because of theft.

Most of the farms
are owned by whites,

so inevitably it's whites
that suffer from those attacks.

But there are plenty
of rich black farmers

who also suffer attacks.

This story about a white genocide
is absolutely absurd.

The story that is out there
is that there's

a white genocide happening
in South Africa.

That's the story that's out there.

It's an inaccurate story.

There are shootings every week
in a township.

There are assaults every week
in the township.

People have lost count.

Communities don't report things
to the police.

It's just like they're numb

to the crime that's happening
in their own environment.

Is there crime happening on farms
in South Africa? Absolutely.

Have Afrikaners experienced
that violent crime

on their properties? Absolutely.
Nobody's denying that.

But, wow, at a...

..on a whole other scale,

crime is happening in townships

where mostly black people
are living.

The divisions created
by apartheid continue

to run deep
in South African society.

And nowhere is that more clear
than within families.

Hello, hello. How are you?

While Carlien is determined
to seek asylum in America,

her daughter Wilma wants to stay.

Your mother's expressed interest,

and she's in the process
of wanting to go to America.

What are your thoughts
and feelings about that decision?

I'm happy for them,
and I hope it works.

And I hope they can do it
and they can start a new life,

um, you know,
and get out of this country,

because it doesn't look hopeful.

President Trump has said that

there's a white genocide
going on in South Africa,

and he wants to help
the Afrikaners escape South Africa.

What are your thoughts and opinions?

They can call it a white genocide

because most white people
own farmland.

But there's so much crime
in South Africa -

if you're black,
if you're white, doesn't matter.

So it's affecting everyone equally.
Everyone equally.

In October, the US set
a refugee cap of just 7,500,

reserving most spots for Afrikaners.

OK.

Carlien submitted her application

and has been advised
to complete more paperwork.

Marthinus and his family
have now been granted refugee status

and are preparing to move
to the United States.

Now, here's some other great content

from the BBC World Service
that you can find this week.

We've launched a brand-new podcast,
Asia Specific,

hosted from Singapore
in twice-weekly episodes

that will also appear in vision on
the World Service YouTube channel.

I've been based
in the BBC's Singapore bureau

for 20 years, covering stories
all over Asia -

the 2011 Japan earthquake,

the pro-democracy protests
in Hong Kong,

and the Tokyo Olympics.

And during this time, Asia has
become an economic powerhouse

and a region increasingly
shaping the world

on everything from tech trends
to clean energy.

Since Singapore achieved its
independence in 1965 from Malaysia,

it has had one of the highest
economic growths in the world,

helped by its strategic location

and time-zone advantage
for the Eastern and Western world.

Singapore is one of the world's

most densely populated countries,
and it has four official languages.

It's a melting pot of culture.

It's the perfect base
for our new Asia Specific podcast,

where we have in-depth discussions
on the region's big news issues,

as well as the unexpected
trends shaping Asia.

Asia Specific -
unpacked by those who know it best.

Thanks for joining me
in South Africa.

We want your feedback on Global Eye.

Let us know what you think
on social media,

Global Eye will be back

from the BBC's headquarters
in London next week.

Goodbye.