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Meet the Oscar Pistorius Trial channel 199 anchors

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Meet the Oscar Pistorius Trial channel 199 anchors

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Meet the team that will anchor DStv’s landmark Oscar Pistorius Channel.

Bongani Bingwa holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in English and Political Studies from Wits University.


A veteran of South Africa’s long running investigative TV programme Carte Blanche since 2007, he has interviewed thought leaders, senior politicians, captains of industry, authors, celebrities and high flyers on the global stage. Among these were such influential leaders as Thabi Mbeki, Tony Blair, Al Gore, Rudi Giuliani, and Graca Machel to name a few. Having launched his career in journalism in 2005 on Talk Radio 702 as a news anchor, he then moved on to host the talk show Talk At Nine. A recognized industry leader, Bongani was highlighted among a select few journalists and media specialists for Vanity Fair‘s iconic Africa feature in 2007.

David O’Sullivan started his career at Capital Radio in 1982. As news editor, he covered the fall of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela. He also worked as a foreign correspondent for international radio networks including Independent Radio News (London), VOA and National Public Radio (USA), 2GB (Australia) and Newstalk ZB (New Zealand).

He left full-time radio for a career in law, and worked for Webber Wentzel in their media law department, liaising with clients such as The Star, Pretoria News, Sowetan and the BBC. In 1995, he joined Talk Radio 702 working in news and sports covering large events ranging from the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1996 and 2012 Olympic Games, the 2012 Paralympic Games and every SA election since 1994. Having studied law at Wits University and practiced as a candidate attorney for two years, he hosted the Afternoon Drive Show for 11 years before moving to the Early Breakfast Show last year.

Derek Watts: Before joining Carte Blanche at its inception in 1988, Watt’s was a sports anchor for SABC’s Top Sport. A journalist for more than 25 years, he has been a presenter on South African TV since 1985.


He has stood on Mount Everest, walked down Sniper’s Alley in Bosnia, was part of the team covering the First African in Space project, boarded the aircraft carrier George Washington during the Gulf War and followed NASA’s bid to put man on Mars.

Devi Sankaree Govender began her career in journalism on radio while completing a BA Degree at the University of Natal. She moved on from presenting music shows, to become a talk show host for Lotus FM. Her show, which ran for 10 years, was well known for its straightforward approach to tackling sensitive and controversial issues.


Devi’s TV break came in 1996 when she was hired on SABC 1’s Eastern Mosaic. While keeping her radio and television career on the boil, Devi then joined the Sunday Times in 1998 as a weekly columnist. A year later she joined the Sunday Times as their Features Editor. Devi’s weekly column is now going into its 16th successive year.? In January 2002, Devi joined the Carte Blanche team. Devi also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and an MBA through the University of Natal.

Emma Sadleir is a media law consultant and speaker based in Johannesburg. Her areas of expertise include all aspects of print and electronic media law, with a particular focus on social media law.

Emma has a BA LLB (with distinction) from Wits University, as well as an LLM in Information Technology, Media and Communications Law (with distinction) from the London School of Economics. Having spent five years in the media litigation department at Webber Wentzel, Emma started up a media law consultancy in April 2013. While her areas of expertise include all aspects of print and electronic media law, most of her work involves creating social media strategies, drafting social media policies, brand and reputation management, and providing training and workshops on social media law. As a social media law expert, she is often quoted in news publications and is a frequent guest on radio and television. She has also written papers on tweeting from court, the regulation of alcohol advertising and liability for user generated content online. She lectures personal and brand reputation management on the Gordon Institute of Business Science MBA.

John Webb began his career in journalism with Network Radio News, at the time South Africa’s largest supplier of independent radio news, in 1997. John moved to 702 Talk Radio in 1999 as a reporter, news-reader and talk show host. He presented a weekly current-affairs show, and later became the station’s unofficial International Affairs correspondent. He travelled to 15 countries while working at 702, reporting on the major international news events of the past five years.

He left 702 in 2004 to launch a television production company called GIANT Media International. The move coincided with his first assignment as a presenter for Carte Blanche in April 2004. His assignments included the impact of international sanctions on Iraq, the build-up to the American invasion of Afghanistan, the second Gulf War, the land invasions in Zimbabwe, the floods in Mozambique and the outbreak of ethnic strife in eastern DRC. In his two years at NRN he covered several high-profile stories including the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, post-genocide Rwanda and political violence in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. John graduated with a degree in politics from the Rand Afrikaans University in 1994, and also has a journalism diploma from Damelin College. He has written a book called The Zanzi Bar – Africa Through the Lens, which was published in 2003.

Leigh Bennie was born in Cape Town and grew up in Swaziland. She has been on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk since 2002 and has located and hosted experts in a variety of professional fields such as the law, psychology and medicine.

She has also been a media studies lecturer at Boston Media College, equipping students with the skills to handle both the on air and behind the scenes realities of a successful career in radio. She is a qualified negotiation and conflict mediator and has interviewed a number of leading professionals including Advocate Wim Trengove and Banking Ombudsman Advocate Clive Pillay. She has worked for M-Net as a television presenter and has been a weekly panellist on SuperSport.

Subniv Babuta joined the BBC directly after finishing his studies at Oxford University. After a short stint as a producer for BBC Radio 4 & 3, he moved to London Weekend Television as a presenter and researcher. In 1987, he returned to the BBC, and stayed there until 2006, as a Producer/Director, then Executive Producer, in BBC News & Current Affairs. In 2006, Subniv joined Endemol, the world’s largest independent production company, and now has his own production company, Damida Ltd., based in London.


Subniv was the Executive Producer in charge of the BBC’s Millennium Night broadcast, 2000 Today, the 26-hour live show, the longest and most expensive programme ever produced by the BBC. He is also currently the Executive Producer and Creative Head of the internationally acclaimed animated series The 99, shown in over 75 countries worldwide, and publicly acclaimed by President Obama as a major contribution to relations between the Islamic world and the West. Subniv has two degrees in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford. In addition to his television producing and presenting, he is also a published novelist (The Still Point), and has written extensively on moral philosophy, specialising on the nature of Evil. He has worked with Combined Artistic Productions for almost two years.

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Asuquo Eton founded talkmediaafrica.com, now one of the most visited TV, music, tech and features website, in 2011. He is also a social media analyst, media and entertainment consultant.

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