With the Olympic Games Paris 2024 kicking off on Friday, July 26, the sporting world has been cast into the spotlight.
Capitalising on the hype, Showmax is set to release “Dark Side of Glory”, a documentary delving into the shocking cases of murder in the world of sport.
The true-crime doccie opens with “The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer” episode.
The jaw-dropping 76-minute feature follows former rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana, who was arrested for killing four men with an axe and wounding two others.
Ntshongwana, who played for South Africa at U21 level and for the Blue Bulls between 1998 and 2001, claimed to be avenging the gang rape and subsequent HIV infection of his daughter.
However, upon further investigation, the police found that he had no children.
In the documentary, his former Blue Bulls teammate, Springbok winger McNeil Hendricks, says: “There’s a saying that goes, ‘He couldn’t hurt a fly’.”
“It’s hard to believe that Joseph Ntshongwana, as we knew him, had chopped people’s heads off,” he said.
Other personalities who are featured on this episode include captain Rico Naidoo, SA Police Service (SAPS) colonels Jason McGray and Ze-Ev Krein, detective Marius Van Der Looy and former SAPS head profiler, Dr Gérard Labuschagne.
They are joined by senior state advocate Nadira Moosa, psychiatrist Dr Zuber Moola, rugby journalist Brenden Nel, and key witnesses, among others.
In a press statement, director Arianna Perretta said that she felt it was vital to ensure that the testimonies of the victims and witnesses in “The Durban Axe Murderer” case were heard.
“Fikile Mkhwanazi, the partner of murder victim Paulus Hlongwa, sharing her story was particularly powerful.”
Meanwhile, the second episode, “Death in the Heartlands”, investigates the murder of three female runners in Kenya in 2021.
They include Edith Muthoni, Agnes Tirop, who was murdered a day after the second victim, and Damaris Muthee Mutua, who was killed six months later. All the women were allegedly killed by the men closest to them – their partners or coaches.
In addition, two of the murders took place in the elite running community of Iten, known as the Home of Champions.
Tirop, an Olympian and two-time World Athletic Championship medallist, was found stabbed to death in the area, soon after clinching a 10 000m world record in Germany. She would have been a favourite at the Paris Olympics.
“The culture of elite sport is that we celebrate tunnel vision in order to pursue our goal. But then we become highly vulnerable,” said Yale academic Dr Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu, who features in the episode.
It also includes the expert analysis of Andolo Munga, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation inspector, coach Joseph Cheromei; Tirop’s family and neighbours, as well as Olympian Viola Cheptoo Lagat, who co-founded Tirop’s Angels, which seeks to stand in unity against gender-based violence.
“‘Death in the Heartlands’ exposes the harsh challenges young, especially female, athletes face and celebrates the resilience and courage of the women who have organised to challenge the culture and system around elite running in Kenya," said Perretta.
She added that the documentary showed “the real voices behind these cases, from the relentless Durban police team that brought Joseph Ntshongwana to justice, to the courageous friends and families of Agnes Tirop, Edith Muthoni and Damaris Muthee, who exposed the exploitation of female athletes”.
“These are raw, powerful and shocking stories.”
Watch the trailer below:
∎ “Dark Side of Glory” premières on Showmax on Wednesday, July 31, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday.