Unreported World: Season 2025, Episode 2

2025 - 2: South Africa's Discipline Camps Exposed

Unreported World investigates a so-called 'discipline camp' in South Africa. The camps promise to reform children who can't be controlled by their parents. But reporter Sahar Zand discovers an abusive side to its methods. South Africa's youth are in crisis. Drug use is surging, as is violence in the classroom. Parents are struggling to control their children and a thriving 'troubled teen' industry has emerged. At the forefront of this movement is 25-year-old Prince Motlou, who says his Rising Stars Generation discipline camp offers military-style training that will send hundreds of children back to their parents with newfound respect. But it becomes clear that this is no ordinary boot camp; that it's something far more sinister, with children marching for hours in the heat and without water. Children are searched for contraband, and physical violence is used despite corporal punishment being illegal in South Africa. Some children come forward with shocking allegations of sexual abuse. One of Prince Motlou's previous camps is under police investigation after two boys drowned. Motlou, who likes to be known as Emperor General, denies any wrongdoing.