In 2024, Politically Aweh set out to expose the environmental negligence and greenwashing of South African petrochemical giant Sasol South Africa’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter. Its Secunda plant is the world’s biggest single-point source of greenhouse emissions.
We produced a satirical remake of Sasol’s corporate video, featuring SAFTA-winning actor and activist Siv Ngesi and comedian KG Mokgadi. PA used KG’s razor-sharp insights and Siv’s comedic genius to reveal why Sasol’s story is essential to know about - even if it’s a bit of a horror show. The PA team highlighted the devastating environmental impacts on local communities and the global climate impact of South Africa's top corporate polluter.
Released a week before Sasol’s AGM, the parody highlighted the company’s environmental failures, broken climate promises, evasion of investor scrutiny through a virtual AGM, and its decision to scrap a climate resolution vote.
Using sharp humour and cultural resonance, we aimed to hold Sasol accountable while making climate justice issues accessible and urgent. The campaign spotlighted the devastating local and global impacts of pollution, amplified affected community voices, and brought investor and public attention to a major corporate polluter.
Politically Aweh is a youth-focused satirical news show that blends humour, pop culture, and sharp critique. Our goal is to inform, empower, and mobilise young people - especially in underserved communities - by making politics punchy, relevant, and impossible to ignore.
We developed a bold, satirical campaign around “Politically Aweh’s Honest Sasol Corporate Video ft Siv Ngesi” to expose petrochemical giant Sasol’s greenwashing and poor climate performance. Timed strategically ahead of Sasol’s 2024 AGM, the parody remake of the company’s corporate video - featuring comedian Siv Ngesi and our show host, KG Mokgadi - used humour, research, and storytelling to highlight Sasol’s massive emissions footprint and broken climate commitments.
Politically Aweh is built on principles of accountability, transparency, and public participation. But these values are only impactful if shared in ways that resonate. That’s why YouTube is not just a distribution platform for us—it’s central to our mission. It enables viral reach, sustained engagement, and community dialogue in a way no traditional media platform can.
In this campaign, we unpacked the environmental, economic, and political controversies surrounding one of South Africa’s most influential companies. The result was a sharp and entertaining piece of digital satire that got people talking - and thinking.
The most powerful proof of impact was the viewer response. YouTube’s comment section transformed into a space of civic engagement, mixing humour with hard truths. One viewer joked, “Air quality over the past 4 years has gone down more times than my hun has gone down on me,” while another observed, “The ANC will back Sasol until the last piece of coal is mined.” Others reflected on their roles as investors or citizens, with one comment reading, “This video made me regret buying shares in Sasol… I’m literally disgusted.”
It was satire evolving into civic dialogue—exactly what Politically Aweh exists to achieve.
To amplify the campaign’s reach, Siv Ngesi shared the video with his 260,000+ followers on Instagram and X.com. We also partnered with media platforms like Daily Maverick to tap into South Africa’s business media landscape and aired the content on Cape Town TV to reach audiences with limited internet access. This ensured the campaign resonated across platforms and demographics.
In total, the campaign garnered over 60,000 views, high average watch times, and strong audience engagement. But most importantly, it made Sasol’s environmental track record a topic of mainstream conversation. Shareholders criticised the lack of progress on climate goals - directly echoing the themes in our video. Anecdotally, we learned that Sasol’s communications team was actively monitoring the campaign, signalling that the message hit its target.
This project demonstrates the power of accessible, youth-focused media to challenge powerful institutions and drive public engagement. YouTube enabled us to blend viral humour with credible journalism, building a cross-generational audience motivated by accountability, justice, and truth.
At Politically Aweh, we don’t just upload content, we co-create national conversations. We make civic education digestible, relatable, and actionable. This fusion of satire, storytelling, and strategy - delivered through the democratic power of YouTube - is more than a campaign. It’s a blueprint for the future of public interest media and political engagement in South Africa.
(Please see the analytics document under Supporting material)
The project set out to expose Sasol’s poor climate record, build public and investor pressure ahead of its 2024 AGM, and engage young people in climate accountability efforts. We consider the project a success due to strong outcomes across all objectives, despite some adaptive changes in strategy.
Objective 1 aimed to expose Sasol’s climate failures to the general public and business sector. This was fully achieved with the timely release of the satirical video "Politically Aweh's Honest Sasol Corporate Video ft Siv Ngesi", which garnered over 60,000 views across platforms. Targeted outreach through media partnerships (e.g. Daily Maverick, Cape Town TV) and the involvement of high-profile personalities like Siv Ngesi ensured the content reached both influential and underserved audiences.
Objective 2 focused on increasing pressure on Sasol ahead of the AGM. The campaign achieved this through widespread distribution and strategic amplification. Anecdotal evidence suggests Sasol’s communications team was monitoring the campaign closely, and media coverage reflected heightened scrutiny from investors.
Objective 3 sought to increase youth engagement. While the initial plan to collect youth submissions was adapted due to time constraints, the release of a youth-led call-to-action video reached nearly 3,000 viewers. The majority of viewers were aged 25–34, with good engagement across genders, though the campaign underperformed in reaching young women.
In summary, the project succeeded in disrupting corporate narratives, mobilising public attention, and engaging youth voices—demonstrating Politically Aweh’s unique ability to use satire and media to hold power to account.
