Main content

Blood Lands: Blood on the Wall – Episode 1

When two men arrive, unexpectedly, at a remote South African farmhouse they trigger a frenzied series of events that expose the enduring tensions threatening the "rainbow nation".

Blood Lands is a true story told in five parts which takes us to the heart of modern South Africa.

At dusk on a warm evening in 2016, two men arrive, unexpectedly, at a remote South African farmhouse. The frenzy that follows will come to haunt a community, destroying families, turning neighbours into traitors, prompting street protests, threats of violence, and dividing the small farming and tourist town of Parys along racial lines. Blood Lands is a murder investigation, a political drama, a courtroom thriller, and a profound exploration of the enduring tensions threatening the “rainbow nation". Over the course of three years, correspondent Andrew Harding has followed every twist of the police’s hunt for the killers, the betrayals that opened the door to an explosive trial, and the fortunes of all those involved – from the dead men’s families to the handful of men controversially selected for prosecution.

Presenter, Andrew Harding
Producer, Becky Lipscombe
Editor, Bridget Harney

Release date:

Available now

17 minutes

Featured in...

Nazanin and the mystery of a decades old tank debt

Nazanin and the mystery of a decades old tank debt

Has an old tank debt with Iran cost Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe her freedom?

Seriously... Archive

Seriously... Archive

Even more seriously interesting documentaries from Radio 4.

Seriously... Reads

Seriously... Reads

Read more about some of the amazing stories in Seriously...

Podcast