Once in a while, it is a good idea to take stock of where we are. It’s so easy to become desensitised to the political realities around us. It becomes like a buzzing in the ear that the body acclimates to, muffled in the cacophony of noises. For example, to state that corruption is a problem in South Africa isn’t inaccurate, but that has been said and heard so many times before. Showmax, with masterful skill, displays in a terrifying spotlight just how entrenched corruption is in South Africa with their new documentary Steinheist.
The docu-series, led by financial journalist and author Rob Rose, who wrote a similarly titled book in 2018, takes a deep dive into what has been described as the scandal synonymous with corporate corruption that took place with Steinhoff International in 2017. It looks into the man behind the colossal crash of the company on the JSE and Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Markus Jooste.
The complications of how a company witnessed a 97% drop in stock value in the blink of an eye is a very distant topic to me. Rob Rose realizes that it is this lack of education in the intricacies of finance and economic sectors that let people such as Jooste get away with it, hence his passion for telling this story. Through the help of renowned television news anchor Fifi Peters and other industry professionals sharing their personal stories, the sinister nature of the fraud becomes more and more clear. With a combination of visually stunning cinematography, thoughtful editing decisions and equally thoughtful prompts on Ross’ part, Showmax has delivered nothing short of a gripping story. It is a continuation of the showmanship the platform has continuously shown artistic potential for.
Through the episodes available at present, you hear from personal accounts about how this corruption affected people. How corruption isn’t just a mean, scary monster that haunts our contemporary politics from behind closed doors. Although their voices aren’t necessarily the ones being primarily represented, elderly people invested their pension funds into shares of a smokes and mirrors company.
You also see how deeply entrenched all of these things are. The story doesn’t start with a problematic incident in 2017. It’s also a clear display of how white and masculine the spaces where all the big corporate decisions take place are. Even the few people of colour and femmes who can make it into the boardroom aren’t enough to bring these powerful white men to filter their words and actions. Acquisition and domination are the running themes in how Jooste carried out his business practices; a product of his pre-democracy Stellenbosch University Old Boy’s culture. While the nature of this corruption isn’t necessarily political – as in pertaining to the misuse of state funds (a song to which we all know the words) a truth remains: everything is political.
Steinheist is worth watching for a bunch of reasons. Maybe you want a different spin on the true crime buzz of the past few years. Maybe you want to know a little more about this monumental moment in history. Nonetheless, it is a reminder of where we live, and a question of how long we have lived among the politics of bullies and corrupters. More importantly, in light of the fact that Markus Jooste is a free man: how long will this continue?
