Investigative journalism is alive and well in Africa, report Lulah Mapiye and Sechabe Molete.
Journalists and media workers from over 30 African countries gathered for the AIJC conference.
Journalists were reminded to apply journalistic basics to produce the best work.
The annual AIJC conference will take place in Kenya next year.
Investigative journalists from South Africa, The Gambia and Ghana walked home with all the spoils of the third edition of the African Investigative Journalism Awards held on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
The ceremony, hosted in partnership with ABSA, brought together journalists and media workers from over 37 African countries and 45 further afield, reaffirming a common desire to change the world through storytelling.
As broadcaster Sakina Kumwendo introduced the night’s various speakers, it became evident that the future of African journalism is in good hands.
“As I look around, I see not just fellow journalists, but I also see the ultimate custodians of truth on our continent. Women and men who carry the torch in the darkest corners where power hides, knowing full well that this very light they bare makes them targets,” said the Editor in Chief of Nation Media Group, Dr. Joe Ageyo, in his keynote address.
From left to right: Seth Bokpe, Dewald van Rensburg, Edmund Agyemang Boateng and Mustapha K Darboe at the African Journalism Awards. Photo: Leon Sadiki
Ageyo’s message was a call to action for all African journalists to sharpen their tools to save Africa from the horrors brought on by corruption, negligent leadership and weaponised incompetence that continue to torment her.
South African journalist Dewald Rensburg won the award for his 10-part series titled ‘City of Gold’ last night. Rensburg’s ‘City of Gold’ piece exposes a large Gold-based VAT scam worth billions. His exposè shines light on organised crime and money laundering in Johannesburg’s gold sector.
Convener of Judges, Gwen Lister, revealed there were many compelling submissions, which almost made choosing one ultimate winner impossible. However, what sets winning journalists apart from the rest is the ability to go back to journalistic basics.
And 2025’s awards did not only celebrate the first prize recipient, second place went to Mustapha K Darbae of The Republic, The Gambia for “The Assets Go for a Song”. In third place were Seth Bokpe and Edmund Agyemang Boateng of The Forth Estate, Ghana for “Forest invasion.”
The investigative journalism work continues and delegates will convene in November 2026 at Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya for the fourth AIJC.
FEATURED IMAGE: Dewald van Rensburg giving a speech after winning. Photo: Leon Sadiki
Due to the high unemployment in South Africa, citizens have resorted to finding gaps within the formal sector, creating informal employment for themselves, running errands.
A lack of job security pushes people to trade in the informal sector, with women the most affected.
Runners use social media platforms to conduct their business and reach customers.
The runners typically operate in big, bustling cities.
It’s a Wednesday evening in September, Kamogelo has just arrived at her residence after a long day of teaching practicals. She is now on a call trying to correct a mix-up with orders she placed last weekend from Johannesburg to Pretoria’s Mamelodi Mall.
Kamogelo Matshate (22), a final year bachelor of education student at Wits University, has been a runner since May 2024. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, she goes to Johannesburg CBD, Dragon City and China Mall to buy items for customers and send them via courier services.
People who buy items on behalf of others are referred to as personal shoppers or runners. Matshate is guaranteed at least R1,000 at the end of each month, which she makes by charging a runner fee of R150-R250, depending on the size of the order.
Runners inside the Lotto building in Joburg CBD queuing to pay for blankets and mats for their customers. Photo: LulahMapiye
The informal sector pays the bills
A report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released in March 2025 shows that South Africa’s informal sector accounted for 19.5% of total employment in the fourth quarter of 2024.
This is in line with scholarly research, which shows that the majority of people operating in South Africa’s informal sector enter it out of necessity, a direct result of the country’s tough economic climate.
“This is particularly true for economically marginalized groups, most notably youth and women. Due to a lack of formal opportunities, black women are disproportionately forced to enter the informal sector,” said Siphelele Ngidi, an associate researcher on the labour market project at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits.
This is true in Matshate’s case. She felt pushed by circumstances to become a runner. Her mother, who was a volunteer at a non-profit organisation (NPO), earning an incentive of less than R2,000 a month, was released from her duties in April 2024. Matshate’s mom took up the volunteering role as she had given up on hopes of formal employment. She has been applying for jobs for years with no luck.
A 2023 study by Stats SA, reported that the participation of women in the labour force remained lower than that of men, at 54.3% compared to 64.9% for men. This is a byproduct of South Africa’s history, where the labour market was separated on the basis of race and gender. Unfortunately, this remains true 31 years into democracy.
In addition, moments of uncertainty like the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic saw millions of people lose their jobs and enter the informal sector for survival.
Seeing her single mom fail to secure a job for years and struggling to provide for her little brother, who was then in matric, devastated Matshate. Her National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowance of R1,700 was not enough to feed her and her family back home.
“My mother doesn’t have Facebook, so it would have been difficult for her to market products to people. I have 7,300 followers on Facebook, which gave me a starting advantage.
“Referrals also help boost my customer base and trust,” said Matshate, who has been using the money she makes from running errands to feed her family and pay for their funeral policy.
“Factors like the quality of employment can push people into the informal sector. When formally employed people are paid below a living wage, they may quit their jobs for full-time informal work or keep their jobs and do part-time work in the informal sector,” said Ngidi.
Essential middle(wo)men
This is the reason Nonti Mpofu (40), is a part-time runner in Johannesburg. She works four days a week as a domestic worker and two days a week as a runner. Her supply base goes beyond South Africa, as she stocks many items for customers in Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Mpofu has created a name for herself, and her customers value her service. “I stay in Pongola and sell in Ndubazi area, under Sishelweni region, Eswatini, leaving Pongola to stock in Joburg slows down my business, as I have to carry my bags and knock door to door selling.
Sending money to auntie Nonti to stock for me saves me money and gives me an opportunity to maximise on sales,” said Lengton Bishi, Mpofu’s customer from KwaZulu-Natal.
Standing next to a young man who was using a clear pallet wrap to wrap a parcel from the first floor of the Lotto building in Joburg CBD, “Depending on how big the parcel is, wrapping ranges from R20-R50. We do it to keep a customer’s parcel safe. Obviously, if the parcel arrives without the wrap, I’d know someone tempered with it,” said Mpofu.
Inside the large black plastic bag were baby diapers. Mpofu plans to take the parcel to Newtown to put it on a bus to Zimbabwe for a fee of R200. Her customer runs a small business in a village called Dewedzo.
Runners benefit the formal market, as they use transportation services like buses and taxis, courier services like PEP’s Paxi and shops for stock.
Mpofu charges between R100 and R150 for orders up to R1,000. For orders up to R4,000, she charges 15% of the order amount, and for orders above R4,000, she charges 10% of the order amount. This is how she makes a profit.
Most of the stores where Matshate and Mpofu buy stock encourage bulk buying, which allows for negotiation, discounts and ultimately increased profit.
Through this informal trading, these women are able to feed their families. Mpofu has built herself a house, sent her son to college and her daughter to a private primary school.
The informal sector in South Africa is growing, with Stats SA reporting a rise in informal businesses from 1.5 million in 2013 to 1.9 million in 2023, consistent with the rise in unemployment.
Moreover, the informal sector has the same dynamics as the formal sector as more men are employed than women.
Filling a technological gap
The shops that Matshate and Mpofu stock from use only WhatsApp to market their products. They do not have business websites, which makes it difficult for their customers to shop directly from them. When customers are unsatisfied with a product they ordered online, there is usually a procedure they can follow to return it. However, they cannot do that with the type of shops runners typically source from.
As a result, runners take the place of an online presence. Filling an essential gap and going above and beyond to satisfy their customers. “Unlike ordering online and getting surprised, I get in store [sic] and feel the quality of the product, see if it matches the product description. If it does not, I quickly inform my customer before stocking up,” said Matshate.
Mpofu showing a salesman WhatsApp pictures of what her customer from Midrand wants. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
According to GG Alcock, author of Kasinomics, informal economies are highly fragmented, and opportunities lie in aggregated models. For example, the success of Uber lies in aggregating millions of drivers on a single app. Uber recognized that a million drivers are more powerful than a hundred thousand taxis.
Similarly, runners understand that a thousand customers are better than trying to set up a thousand individual shops. Aggregation models are being used in the informal sector because that is where opportunities lie. Using technology for marketing, making payments and orders, including messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook, helps numerous informal businesses aggregate their businesses.
Challenges of being a runner
When Wits Vuvuzela attempted to get a perspective from the store owners and workers on their experience with runners, they refused to speak. “They are afraid that you might be working with the Johannesburg Metro Police,” said Mpofu.
Johannesburg Metro Police often raid, and confiscate items sold in the shops Matshate and Mpofu buy stock from because most of the clothing shops sell counterfeit products. “Though runners are not directly harassed, there is a ripple effect on the success of their business because of these police raids,” said Ngidi.
Anele Zwane, a 24-year-old student in Pietermaritzburg, became a runner in 2024. Her plan was to help busy people with their grocery shopping for a small fee of R150, but she did not get any customers.
She soon realised, “Things are expensive in Martizburg, I could not be a runner for any other thing except food. Unfortunately, people here prefer shopping on their own. They viewed paying me R150 to help them as a rip off,” said Zwane.
Mpofu attested that location is key, as she left Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, her hometown, for greener pastures in Joburg. “No one needs anything from Estcourt but most people in Estcourt need a lot of things from Johannesburg. And some of my customers are from Estcourt,” said Mpofu.
Mpofu, Zwane and Matshate claim it is rare to find a runner who works outside of Johannesburg and Durban, runners typically operate within these cities.
The South African informal sector is growing rapidly as many citizens need to put food on the table and formal employment is either not available or not paying enough. The policies of trade in the informal sector make it difficult for some to enter. The solution lies in the informal and formal sector working together and using aggregation models and technology to boost the country’s economic status.
FEATURED IMAGE: Dragon city where runners buy hair and other products for their customers. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
Wits social work students are working to upskill and inform their patients to facilitate community reintegration.
Patients cannot afford to travel to free governmental skills development agencies.
Employers discriminate against people with criminal records and recovering addicts.
An addict turned drug counsellor claims it is possible to start afresh.
Patients from Westview drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic filled Dobsonville’s community hall for a skills and entrepreneurship workshop, on Thursday, August 28. Facilitated by Wits University social work students, these workshops aim to ensure a proper income for drug addicts after rehabilitation.
Wits fourth-year social work student, Karabo Khubelu and her colleagues found that their patients could not afford to travel to free government skills agencies.
As a result, patients had difficulties making ends meet post-rehabilitation. “Most of these patients do not have skills they can use to sustain a living.
“Those who have skills face the same challenges as those without, because many employers discriminate against people with criminal records and recovering addicts,” said Khubelu.
The workshops focused on skills such as using laser machines to make products like pencil boxes, belts and printed t-shirts, and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to draw up business proposals.
An economic development facilitator from the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Tsepang Mokgatla encouraged them to register businesses as opportunities are easier to access when one’s papers are in order.
“My job is to help you move your business from where you are to where you want it to be,” he said.
The social workers at Westview included testimonials from recovered addicts in their workshops.
“I am not an addict because I used, I used because I am an addict. I had an obsessive nature since childhood, I should have known I would be obsessed about alcohol and drugs too,” said Keamogetse Molotsi, recovered addict, entrepreneur and registered drug counsellor.
Molotsi’s addiction even led to living on the streets. He woke up one day, in August 2020, after two years of staying in the streets and 11 years of drug abuse and admitted he had a problem and needed help.
He spent six weeks at Dobsonville community development forum and another six weeks at the Westview clinic.
Molotsi managed to turn his life around using the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant. He stocked chicken feet and started a food business.
Through the assistance of free skills and entrepreneurial development services, Molotsi managed to grow his business. From selling chicken feet at a street corner, to a full Shisanyama with four employees.
There are various rehabilitation centres across Johannesburg. If you are struggling with addiction or know someone who is, make use of such services and turn your life around with the help of people who care.
Contact details for some of the above-mentioned rehabilitation centres are found below:
Westview Clinic 082 059 9580
Journey Recovery & Wellness Centre 079 465 4556
Emndeni Rehabilitation Centre 011 934 6137
Addiction Assistance 011 477 0859
FEATURED IMAGE: Philip Ndala, Gauteng regional administrator of the National Youth Development Agency, sharing information about laser machines. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
An influencer you trust will say they “did not know” when you are stuck in Russia working in a weapons factory.
Over the weekend, South Africans were outraged by videos posted by some local influencers on Tik Tok and Instagram, promoting Russia’s Alabuga start programme, under the guise of a study programme.
According to Bloomberg news, the Alabuga Start is currently being investigated by Interpol, an international criminal police organization, for human trafficking. It is alleged; the company hires women from Africa between the ages of 18 and 22.
Amongst the South African influencers who promoted the programme were Cyan Boujee (Honour Zuma), Peachy Sprinkles (Siyamthanda Anita), Ghost Hlubi (Khanya Hlubi), Seemah (Sima Mangolwane), and Zillewizzy (Khathutshelo Netshitomboni). They each have over 500,000+ followers on TikTok and Instagram.
Their posts promoted a two-year study-work programme, paying between $551-$681 (R9700-R12,000) a month for jobs in sectors such as hospitality, catering, production operator and transport.
According to Independent Online News (IOL) and News24, when these young women arrive in Russia, their job descriptions change, and they are instead subjected to ‘slave like’ working conditions.
They are made to work for long hours in drone factories producing weapons under surveillance, exposed to toxic chemicals and paid poorly. Most are left with no financial means to return home.
While it pays well to get international campaigns, influencers must remember their followers are not just numbers, but people whose lives matter. Especially in a country like ours were high unemployment rates make many young people desperate for work opportunities.
To say, “I did not know,” like Seemah, or “Sorry, it wasn’t for money because I didn’t get paid,” like Cyan Boujee and then simply deleting the promotional videos as the rest of the content creators who worked on this campaign did – is not enough.
Influencers need to realize the influence they carry and do thorough research on all the campaigns they sign up for. Morals and ethics need to be heavier than ‘the bag’.
When all is said and done, young people need to be more responsible for their own lives. Your life is in your hands, not your trusted influencers’.
As a result of this incident, The Department of Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security has warned citizens to avoid relying solely on social media promotions.
Adding that people should verify job advertisements through official channels such as the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and contact South African embassies in the country where the job is based.
Type in “Alabuga Start programme” on any search engine, filter your search to news, you will find an article published by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in November 2024 regarding the human trafficking practices at Alabuga Start.
It goes without saying that both influencers and citizens need to do their research and read the news. Always remember – it is better to be safe than sorry.
Ntsika, a Witsie joined a jewellery investment scam, thinking she would scam the scammers, but had her bank account frozen.
Investment scams depend on recruitment to prosper.
Scammers use Telegram and WhatsApp to reach their target investors.
Losing money is one of the many consequences of joining an investment scam.
After spending an entire day at the Wits Wartenweiler library on East Campus, desperately scrolling on Wits Library in search of academic papers relevant to her research, Lusanda Ntsika (22), a Wits postgraduate student finds herself cherishing and equally lamenting over the days she would make money from EF Jewellery, an online investment scheme. From referring people to join using her referral code, she was guaranteed a bonus pay of up to R300, without any mental labour.
When Ntsika joined EF Jewellery in August 2024, she invested R130, which allowed her to receive R10 each day for 30 days. By the end of the first month, she had made R300, R170 profit, that is 131% profit for doing absolutely nothing.
Ntsika met Christia (referred to as Tina), the group admin of the EF Jewellery WhatsApp group, through her friend, Sizwe Nhlapho, in May 2024. Nhlapho had been using EF and making large withdrawals. He was a team manager with 700 team members. These were people who joined using his referral link.
Nhlapho’s account had a balance of R386, 877.74, his records showed he had previously made withdrawals totalling R263, 620.00 and had assets in jewellery worth R114, 070.00. He was at the top of his game.
Nhlapho’s EF account with 700 team members. Photo: Lusanda Ntsika
Ntsika knew EF Jewellery was an investment scam, from the overly big returns on small investments, and Nhlapho had been transparent regarding the nature of this investment.
The investment packages differed, with the maximum investment at the time of Ntsika’s joining being R5,500 for almost triple the return.
She made a couple of investments, withdrew all the money she invested upon maturity of investment, re-invested part of her profit, and would transfer the other part whenever she needed funds in her bank account.
Social media is fertile ground for digital scams
Scams have been going on for years. They come in different forms: physical and digital. Physical happens in person, and digital scams are modern-day scams on digital platforms, such as fake business websites and applications.
Digital scams reach more people in less time compared to physical scams, and they prove to be much safer for the scammers, as there are many ways to conceal their identities.
A report byFAnews, a South African financial services news platform, claims South Africa’s suspected digital fraud rates dropped from 9.0% in 2020 to 4.6% in 2024, which is currently below the global average of 5.4%.
However, an article released by Moonstone earlier this year, social media has “supercharged” investment scams. Platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp are constantly used by scammers to reach their victims.
Many people who join investment scams that promise high, unrealistic returns are either desperate for money, poor people, or people like Ntsika, who know the financial risks of scams but join planning to exit before it collapses.
The risk of losing money is incredibly high in scams. It is almost always guaranteed you will lose money, but there is another less spoken of consequence of scams, and that is the bank freezing your accounts because of suspected fraudulent transactions.
Be prepared to lose your bank account because of a scam
Late July 2024, EF started having massive sales on jewellery. For example, a one-day investment of R1,680 promised a return of R5,880. People bought into these sales. The first week, people received their returns.
From the second week, Tina started making excuses about the system being down but urged people to keep taking advantage of the sale, so people kept investing. She even recommended that people earning less than R8,000 quit their jobs and focus on EF Jewellery.
Things got heated- money would grow on the app, yet members could not process withdrawals. Withdrawals were failing, every member’s EF jewellery app froze, and some members’ bank accounts were frozen for suspected fraud.
“The bank freezes accounts that receive untraceable transactions, ones receiving deposits from accounts under investigation for fraud and accounts that haven’t been making transactions for too long then suddenly receives large amounts of money,” said S’bonga Mhlongo, a bank consultant at Capitec.
“My account was frozen after processing R200 from my EF account into my bank account. When I went to the bank, I was told my transaction is untraceable, I should come back with a proof of payment from the person who made the deposit,” said Ntsika.
Conversation between Nhlapho and Ntsika over Ntsika’s blocked account. Photo: Lusanda Ntsika
Scammers either give you a fake proof of payment or no proof of payment. When EF members requested proof of payments from Tina, she would tell them to go shout at the consultants, that would make them unfreeze their accounts, “she didn’t care,” said Ntsika.
The consultants kept telling the members with frozen accounts their accounts had been reported to the bank’s fraud department and investigations were taking place.
Fraud investigations can last for months, during which people’s salaries would be processed into blocked accounts.
Members began to sweat as they failed to process withdrawals weeks on end, with elevated frustrations as profits kept growing on the app with no means of accessing it.
Ntsika’s group had over 5000 members, and there were other groups. It was hard to know people’s professions in the group. Ntsika had managed to have six of her student friends join under her team and a couple of relatives.
If you have been scammed, the bank requires you to open a case at your nearest police station.
When you are suspected of fraud or the person who deposited money into your account is under fraud investigations with the bank, the bank needs an affidavit detailing where the payment came from.
“During the first month of my account being blocked, my allowance was deposited into a frozen account. I had to open another account with another bank while waiting for these investigations to end,” said Ntsika.
After weeks of group members expressing frustrations and anger towards Tina. Things reached boiling point – she changed their group settings to “admins only”, remaining the only person who can send messages in the group.
Many people are unaware there is no specific minimum amount that a bank flags for fraud. Even a small amount like R200, once the bank suspects a fraudulent activity in your account, they will block it.
Investigations on Ntsika’s account lasted for a full year. After months of being sent from pillar to post, her account was unfrozen in August 2025.
Ntsika blames herself for joining an investment scam. She thought she was going to scam the scammers but ended up in debt for a couple of months because of a blocked bank account. Surely, you will think twice before joining an investment scheme from now on.
FEATURED IMAGE: A picture of a blocked bank card. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
The FlySafair strike caused anxiety amongst students from outside the Gauteng Province.
FlySafair pilots were on a strike, which disrupted schedules and cancelled some flights.
Some students who live outside of Gauteng rely on the low-cost carrier.
Students had to use buses and taxis to travel long distances, with increased travel times to boot.
The longest aviation strike in South African history finally came to an end on August 1, 2025. Over 200 FlySafair pilots under the Solidarity trade union were striking for better working conditions and remuneration.
A one-day strike notice turned into a two-week strike, which led to disrupted flight schedules and cancellations.
Wits students were not excluded from these disruptions as they had to fly back to Johannesburg after recess in their home provinces to begin classes on Monday, July 21, the same day the strike started.
“In the absence of FlySafair, I had to choose between seven hours in a bus or five in a taxi from Durban. I chose a taxi, I had no better alternatives,” said Lizwilenkosi Mthiyane, a Theatre and Performance student.
Travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town using a bus takes approximately 20 hours, which is why Esona Ngqebe, an Accounting Science student, was not looking forward to doing it again.
“FlySafair is not the most comfortable airline out there, but it’s better than going to Cape Town in a bus. I had to book a bus ticket coming back to Joburg in July. The drive took forever. I am glad their [FlySafair] strike is over,” said Ngqebe.
FlySafair has been operating fully for just over a week, with flight prices starting from R470. Now that the strike has come to an end, students will not have to worry about their travelling costs.
FEATURED IMAGE: A student complaining about travelling in a bus for hours from Joburg to Cape Town. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
About 160 members of Nehawu were left with no other choice than to accept the less than 6,9% salary increase as majority voted to take the new offer tabled by Wits management.
Nehawu members headed to Wits Science Stadium for their meeting. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
• Nehawu and Wits management reached an agreement after five months.
• The salary increase is not the same percentage across working grades.
• Nehawu will begin salary increase negotiations for 2026 earlier than October.
After five months of negotiations with Wits University, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) finally accepted, during a meeting held on May 09, 2025, at the Wits Science Stadium, an offer of between 5,55% and 5,7% salary increase and an instant R2,500 once-off eWallet despite the majority of the members feeling cornered by circumstances.
Over 260 members voted in favour of the offer, while 160 voted against it.
Most workers were dissatisfied with the disparities in the salary increases. Grade 5-8 workers will receive a 5,55% increase, grade 9-12 workers will receive a 5,6% increase and lastly, grade 13-17 workers will receive a 5,7% increase.
Thabo Modise, secretary of Nehawu Wits branch, believes that this is Wits management’s way to try divide and conquer: “Management wants to divide us,” he said.
Modise encouraged members to trust in their leadership, stressing that members are resigning from the union to join either the Academic Staff Association of Wits University (Asawu) which accepted a salary increase of 4,5% increase, and the Association of Language Teachers of South Africa (ALTSA) which accepted a 5,5% salary increase long before this meeting.
“We are taking the offer because of hunger,” said Trinity Makola, chairperson of Nehawu Wits branch, after the votes were counted.
He went on to promise members to begin salary increase negotiations for 2026 earlier than October.
FEATURED IMAGE: Nehawu members opening the meeting. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
Will we ever have peace and friendship within and across our borders? In this episode of We Should Be Writing, the Vuvu team takes on the final promise of the Freedom Charter: There shall be peace and friendship. We unpack how this vision clashes with the growing issue of xenophobia in South Africa today. Our guests […]
