Man Alone: Mandela’s top cop – exposing South Africa’s ceaseless sabotage

In this episode Mark sits down with journalist Caryn Dolley to discuss her latest book, ‘Man Alone: Mandela’s top cop – exposing South Africa’s ceaseless sabotage’.

Man Alone follows the career of a remarkable South African police officer called André Lincoln, who passed away in May 2025. He was handpicked during the 1990s by Nelson Mandela, to head a secret unit investigating connections between government officials and organized crime in South Africa. He started with Cosa Nostra, the mafia from Sicily.

His long career was marked by controversy, in 2003, Lincoln was convicted of fraud and sacked by the South African Police Service (SAPS), only for the decision to be overturned a few years later after a successful challenge. He always insisted that people within the state, including fellow officers, targeted him in an attempt to scupper his investigations.

Lincoln dedicated 39 years to law enforcement, eventually heading the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit, a unit dedicated to combatting gangsterism in the area. He was accused of not doing enough to prevent the murder of his colleague Charl Kinnear, who was gunned down in 2020, although he vehemently denied this.

In May 2025, Major-General André Lincoln passed away, after years of health problems that left him in a wheelchair.

Caryn talks about Lincoln’s life but she also speaks candidly about her life as a journalist covering the crime beat in the Western Cape.

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Caryn Dolley's book ‘Man Alone: Mandela’s top cop – exposing South Africa’s ceaseless sabotage’ is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Alone-Mandelas-exposing-ceaseless-ebook/dp/B0DPZL8ZB1

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Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe

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📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

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Underworlds with Mark Shaw is returning for another season.

Mark sits down with authors to discuss their investigations into the murky world of organized crime.

In season two, we hear about a range of stories such as money laundering and cryptocurrency; the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from Calabria, Italy to other countries of Europe.

Also the story of a leading South African police officer, who was tasked with investigating the Italian mafia in South Africa by Nelson Mandela.

A fascinating story about one of the largest frauds in the history of the maritime industry. The growth and evolution of ransomware market, and finally a history of modern Russia told through the stories of four very different criminals.

The series is hosted by Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Mark is also an author of a number of books on organized crime in South Africa.

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📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

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FOLLOW US

X - @gitoc

LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

IG - @gi_toc

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Russia, the Wagner Group and the Fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In this episode, Mark sits down with Professor Mark Galeotti, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Anna Arutunyan, ‘Downfall: Prigozhin, Putin, and the new fight for the future of Russia’.

The life of Yevgeny Prigozhin was nothing if not extraordinary. After an earlier stint in prison in Russia, he turned his hands to business, became a catering magnate, then a troll master, and finally the leader of the infamous Wagner PMC (Private Military Contractor).

The actions of the Wagner Group in places like Mali, the Central African Republic and other countries in Africa led to it being designated a transnational organized criminal group by the US in early 2023, whilst it was locked in a fierce battle with Ukrainian forces in the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine.

At the same time, Prigozhin was involved in a very public war of words with the Russia MoD, particularly with then Minister of Defence and close associate of President Putin, Sergei Shoigu. This spat eventually boiled over and led to Prigozhin’s ill-fated ‘March of Justice’ in 2023 which made it to the very edge of Moscow. This catastrophic decision ultimately led to his death, alongside several other members of the Wagner leadership, in a dramatic plane crash a few months later.

In this episode Mark Galeotti sits down with Mark Shaw to talk about Yevgeny Prigozhin, his life and career, his turbulent relationship with certain members of the Russian elite, his posthumous reinvention as the ultimate Russian patriot, where he sits in the arc of Russian history and the future of the Wagner Group without him.

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Mark Galeotti’s book ‘Downfall: Prigozhin, Putin, and the new fight for the future of Russia’ is available here: https://amzn.eu/d/jiIaqS8

Audible version: https://amzn.eu/d/9Tb9MIE

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Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe

====================================================

📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

===================================================

FOLLOW US

X - @gitoc

LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

IG - @gi_toc

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