Brett Kebble was killed just up the road. Mandy Wiener has written the definitive work on his murder. I asked her for an interview, the first of many on this site. Here is the transcript. Buy the book, if you have not already.
1) You began at 702 at the bottom, and now you have emerged as a great reporter, persistent and detailed, and a very good writer. What gave you the belief in yourself?
I did indeed start at the very bottom, call screening overnight shows and writing traffic for Aki Anastasiou. I was very fortunate that I had an editor in Katy Katopodis who nurtured and grew me from a cub reporter. The environment at Eyewitness News is very conducive to growth – you get thrown in the deep end and it truly is a scenario of sink or swim. I had to cover crucial, high-profile stories right from the start and would never have survived if I didn’t develop confidence quickly.
2) Working with these folk in the underworld, did you never feel your life might be at risk?
Never. I had buy-in from all the central characters and they were very aware of what I was writing and the content of the book. They knew from the start that I wouldn’t be a PR agent and there would be some things that they wouldn’t like, but they always knew that it would be an honest account of events.
3) You have chosen to use vernacular – often rough – in the book. Was this for authenticity?
I thought it was important to have Mikey’s verbatim voice coming through in the text as he has a unique, descriptive way of talking. It gives the reader a real, raw, account of events and a familiarity with him. I kept that trend throughout with many of the characters and I think it does contribute to the authenticity of each of them. The vocabulary is rather colourful and I think it has shocked many readers.
4) Clearly justice will never be served in the killing Kebble case. How do you feel about this?
I think this case has exposed the critical flaws in the justice system in the country. I say in the book that the case against Glenn Agliotti was a victim of the criminal justice system in the country, as it became the battlefield for the fight between two agencies of the state – the SAPS and the Scorpions. It shows that if there is insufficient political will and ineffectual prosecutors, anyone can get away with murder.
5) To what extent did you manage to infiltrate the underground? It seems you got in deep, but this would seem to go deeper than we know.
All I have done is exposed one dark corner of the underworld. It is far more extensive than any of us are aware of.
6) With the three suspects living on the edge, what are the chances of their seeing out a normal life?
They are very aware that they got away with murder and that they effectively won the lottery. It does seem as though they are intent on avoiding any trouble in future and that they do want to live out a normal life. However, I say in the book, that it may be a rush of blood to the head, a minor run-in with the law, that will lead them down a different path. It’s ingrained.
7) How has the entire business of fact collection, compilation and writing affected you personally?
Writing the book, doing interviews, compiling the story was a massive undertaking and I don’t think I realised at first how intensive it would be. It was very draining but in retrospect it was a hugely beneficial experience.
8) Justice is often an ephemeral word. Has it been done in this case, given that structures and processes were followed?
If I were the Kebbles, I would be incensed. Justice has certainly not been done in this case and that’s largely because of the lack of political will to see justice being done.
9) How has the success of the book affected your life?
As a journalist, all you have is your reputation and your credibility. I do find that when I interview people now, I’m taken more seriously as my name is more familiar. Being in radio, I have always had the luxury of anonymity as most people don’t know what I look like. That has changed to an extent now.
10) What’s next for Mandy Wiener? A follow-up to this book, or a book on a different subject?
I’m really not sure! The sequel is certainly playing itself out at the moment but I’m not sure if there will be a sequel in the form of a book. The story is not ripe to be told yet, in the same way that I had to wait for the Kebble story to be ripe to write.
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