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Leonie Wagner

Leonie Wagner started her journalism career as a court reporter. She traded her court shoes for champagne flutes reporting on SA's A-list celebrities as an entertainment reporter for The Times and later the Sunday Times. She is passionate about telling human interest stories and compelling features that give readers a glimpse of the realities of ordinary South Africans and high-profile personalities.

Love takes flight as airline surprises passengers with roses, fashion show and local charm

While sombre faces waited to board the morning flight to Cape Town, they were unaware of the red, pink, white and yellow roses waiting for them.

  • Leonie Wagner
Oprah Winfrey gave a talk at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on Friday.

Ask not 'what is wrong with you?'; ask 'what happened to you?' — Oprah Winfrey speaks in Midrand

Oprah Winfrey is a media mogul, philanthropist and a gift giver. So when more than 500 people gathered at Gallagher Convention Centre, the room erupted with excitement as she stepped on stage.

  • Leonie Wagner
Oprah Winfrey with Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls chairperson Dr Kate Windsor.

Oprah Winfrey in South Africa to talk about impact of trauma on learning

Hundreds gathered in Midrand, Gauteng, for an inaugural conference with American talk show icon Oprah Winfrey.

  • Leonie Wagner
Newly crowned Miss SA Nova Nokeri was given her a warm welcome in Polokwane as she kicked off her three-day home tour.

WATCH | Polokwane residents welcome Miss SA Ndavi Nokeri home

Revving motor bikes and cars hooting couldn’t drown out the cheering of Greenside Primary School pupils in Polokwane as Miss SA Ndavi Nokeri kicked off her homecoming tour.

  • Leonie Wagner
A truck and mementoes metres from Nateniël Julies's home, where he was shot dead, allegedly by police.

‘If police can kill a Down syndrome child, how can we trust them?’

Eldorado Park residents relive the anguish of losing loved ones after Nateniël Julies, 16, was shot dead

  • Leonie Wagner
Sipho Skosana with his four-year-old son son Bandile, whose body was found under a rock with 18 stab wounds.
Video

He lost his child to a killer, then the justice system stole his hope

Little Bandile Skosana, whose body was found under a rock, is the latest shocking addition to SA’s list of shame

  • Leonie Wagner
Kelleigh James, 19, founded SA's Black Doek Movement to fight gender-based violence in the country.

‘As a 19-year-old living in Gauteng, I’m afraid to live’

Kelleigh James has implored President Ramaphosa to act as swiftly on GBV as he did on Covid-19

  • Leonie Wagner
Edward Olifant, a grade 12 pupil in the Free State, is among millions of children who are at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I’ve written my suicide letter many times: South Africa’s starving kids speak out

Times Select finds out what the government feeding scheme really means for the nation’s children

  • Leonie Wagner
Doctor Lesego Ndhlovu at an outreach event in Soweto where she and other health-care professional screen children to identify malnutrition.

These heroes are nourishing Soweto’s children one drop at a time

Two Joburg doctors have formed an organisation to address malnutrition, but lockdown hinders their efforts

  • Leonie Wagner
The ongoing national lockdown combined with the festive season blues may be responsible for a rise in the suicide rate

South Africa’s lockdown kids flirt with suicide, risky sexual behaviour

A survey by Childline SA has revealed the psychological impact Covid-19 is having on the country’s youngsters

  • Leonie Wagner
Afrikaans author Elsa Joubert 'always asked the difficult questions'.

Elsa Joubert’s last journey: her sad chat with son

Nico Steytler talks about growing up with the ‘Poppie Nongena’ author – an ‘intellectual sparring partner’

  • Leonie Wagner
In her spare time Retshidisitswe Kotane volunteers at clinics in the Johannesburg CBD and Krugersdorp, and also works shifts at private clinics and emergency units in hospitals over the weekend.

Their joy is her joy: why this young doctor is on the Covid-19 frontline

Retshidisitswe Kotane’s curiosity about her great-grandmother’s swollen feet sparked a passion for medicine. Now the doctor, 25, is on the frontline of SA’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic

  • Leonie Wagner
Mzunani Roseberry Sonto drove Nelson Mandela from prison.

Front seat of history: I drove Madiba to freedom

Mzunani Roseberry Sonto and others recall the day they voted, and reflect on what has happened to SA since

  • Leonie Wagner