The Highwaymen centres around the stories of three of South Africa’s most influential political figures: Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe and Zweli Mkhize. Each of these individuals have shaped the country’s political landscape in fundamental ways. Each of their stories weave representative and intersecting components into the rich narrative of the ANC’s storied rise and its violent, destructive fall.

Exhausted by years of state capture, failed governance, political instability and violence, South Africans are rightfully questioning the status of our once vaunted democratic project and its viability.

Investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille take to the road in this limited audio documentary series by Daily Maverick called The Highwaymen. In taking this journey, Poplak and Neille search for clues from the South African context to help explain why the 21st century may be the worst one yet for liberal democracies everywhere.