Devi Sankaree Govender bows out of The Devi Show on e.tv after 6 years: 'Asking questions - tough ones - are always going to be in my DNA'

by Thinus Ferreira

If you're a crook you fear her, but the beloved journalist and South African treasure Devi Sankaree Govender is closing The Devi Show on e.tv, with this coming Sunday's episode, which will be the last for the current affairs show after 6 years and hundreds of episodes.

The intrepid anchor and reporter Devi Sankaree Govender long ago already earned legendary status on South African television on M-Net's Carte Blanche and in the public consciousness for her fearless approach of confronting wrongdoing - a presence and persona that further expanded when she went to the free-to-air e.tv broadcaster to start The Devi Show.

With The Devi Show she further perfectly blended absolutely fearless investigative journalism, high-stakes accountability and consumer journalism with divine patience and a trademark sense of humour - hunting down scammers, corrupt and lazy government officials, white-collar criminals, dodgy sales and repair people and even a cake-bake fake.

The Devi Show has remained compelling local South African television, with Devi Sankaree Govender's flinch-free confrontations beloved by viewers who trust her.

Viewers delight in her on-location accountability-seeking interactions, whether exposing disbarred lawyers taking upfront fees, shady estate agents, bad funeral parlours, car repair nutjobs, and with everyone from government lackeys to scammers all getting exposed through the programme's high-impact, relatable journalism.

The show and Devi Sankaree Govender have won multiple prestigious awards since the show launched in 2020, with the production that has been widely recognised for excellence in investigative journalism, consumer advocacy, and broadcasting.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Devi Sankaree Govender (@devi_hq)

In a new video message on Instagram, Devi Sankaree Govender says "After 6 years of chasing skelms on the streets of South Africa, mission accomplished."

"It's time now for us to move off linear television. Why? Because you're not here [she holds up a TV remote control], you are here [she holds up a smartphone]. And therefore I need to be here with you, too."

"So this Sunday is going to be the very last episode of The Devi Show on e.tv and eNCA - because one chapter has to end before the others can begin. Can't do two things at the same time."

The episodes from all 24 seasons of The Devi Show will become available on YouTube - on e.tv and her YouTube channels both.

"What is Devi going to do now? All I can say is: Asking questions - tough ones - are always going to be in my DNA. And we may be switching off the studio lights, things are certainly going to get hot. Join me on my journey." 

In a press statement shared with TVwithThinus, Devi Sankaree Govender says "Six years ago, we set out to expose wrongdoing, ask the uncomfortable questions and stand up for people who deserved answers".

"I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. But I have never been someone who stands still for very long and I am so looking forward to what comes next."

"Through hundreds of investigations, numerous awards and years of compelling storytelling, the programme has built a legacy that extends well beyond Sunday-night television."

"The way we consume media has changed. People are engaging with stories differently, having conversations in real time and connecting directly with the people who make content. I want to be part of that evolution."

She explains that "This next chapter represents an opportunity to explore new ways of storytelling and expand my creative horizons beyond the traditional television format".

"I have spent much of my career telling stories through television and I have loved it. But I am also curious about what else is possible and perhaps show audiences a few sides of me they have not seen before."

Becky Casting owner admits she lured hundreds to kiddie tent camps with fake promises to star as Shaka iLembe extras.

photos: The Devi Show/e.tv

by Thinus Ferreira

Casting agent Becky Dube who plunged production of MultiChoice and South Africa's most expensive TV show into scandal admits that she lured hundreds of people from across the country to horrific kiddie tent camps with fake promises of getting roles as Shaka iLembe extras.

Devi Sankaree Govender of The Devi Show on e.tv tracked down the notorious Becky Dube (watch the episode here) who claims that the exploited extras - lured from three provinces hoping for Shaka iLembe walk-on roles only to live in squalor in tents - "consented to that".

The background actors casting scandal led to change, prompting MultiChoice, M-Net and Bomb Productions to implement a code of conduct document it demanded that casting agents working for Shaka iLembe now sign and that it hopes will be adopted through the wider local industry.

Shaka iLembe, produced by Bomb Productions for M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel, is busy with production on its second season, with a third season that will be filmed in 2025.

Earlier this year before principal photography of the second season started, Becky Dube exploited and demanded that hundreds of people pay her R2000 each - only for them to be set up in tents surrounding Bomb Productions' base camp where filming of scenes in Muldersdrift took place.

Becky Casting demanded that prospective extras pay must pay a R350 "membership fee". 

Becky Casting then also demanded that they pay for two so-called "workshops" at R150 each, supposedly to "orientate extras on how things would be" when they get roles on Shaka iLembe. 

Over 300 people from Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape then had to cough up an additional R1250 each, only to discover they're getting flimsy kiddie tent accommodation surrounding the Bomb Productions show, without clean water, no food, no electricity or proper ablution facilities. 

This was after they had to pay for their own transport to get to Johannesburg.

It means that Becky Dube made over R500 000 from all of the people who paid her - although people who get roles as extras are not supposed to pay a cent and are supposed to get paid for their work.

Thabisile Xulu who wanted to be a Shaka iLembe extra said Becky "was rude and didn't respect us. She treated us as if she had picked us up off the streets. It was as if she had dumped us because she didn't check on us". 

After Bomb Productions intervened and told Becky Casting to fix the situation, the hopeful extras were moved to a dilapidated church in Melvern where people slept 13 to a room and eat off the floor.

Extras were then threatened by Becky Casting and told they would not get any work if they spoke out about the conditions and their circumstances.

"She said we were wasting our time speaking to the media because we would be fired," Thabisile Xulu said.

Jack Devnarain, chairman of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) told The Devi Show that "having to pay your agent a commission, on top of a rental - it's not just a violation of industry rules - it's just crazy. Ultimately Bomb Productions is responsible for every single person who is going to be on that set".

"It would be right to look at this in the context of human trafficking. The conditions in which they were kept is a misrepresentation. It wasn't what people were told and they certainly didn't get work every day which is what they were promised."

Jack Devnarain said South Africa's TV and film industry "is still playing catch up, trying to establish basic rights for performers and for creatives. It means we are not protected under any basic conditions of employment". 

"We should be ashamed as South Africa and we should take full responsibility for the fact that the creative sector is not regulated. We are an anomaly. So we have created a system that punished the most vulnerable people within this sector."

Bomb Productions which is busy filming Shaka iLembe as the biggest and most expensive TV production ever made in South Africa, said it didn't make any promises to Becky Casting for extras to get work. 

Together with MultiChoice and M-Net, Bomb Productions has now implemented a strict new code of conduct for casting agents to sign, following the scandal, to prevent any similar occurrences and to prevent being blindsided again.

Thabo Boom, a Bomb Productions producer, told The Devi Show "We hope that the wider industry will take this code of conduct and utilise it so that we try, while we argue for more regulations, that we make sure that we protect extras". He said Bomb Productions will never work with Becky Casting again.

ALSO READ: Shaka iLembe: Bomb Productions extras threatened as Sasfed calls for full investigation over exploitation.