Daily Maverick Greatest Hits

Today, we thought it would be a good time to bring out Daily Maverick’s greatest hits over the years.

• September 2012: Greg Marinovich publishes ‘The murder fields of Marikana. The cold murder fields of Marikana’ exposing the role of the police in the horrific murder of 34 striking workers and the attempted murder of a further 78;


• December 2015: Marianne Thamm’s exposé reveals that the Sunday Times’ SARS Rogue Unit reports are false;


• June 2017: #GuptaLeaks. Daily Maverick, in partnership with amaBhungane, releases a treasure trove of emails and documents that lays bare how South Africa was sold to the Gupta family and the devastating effect it had on our country;


• July 2017: Pauli van Wyk’s first Scorpio exposé reveals Eskom CEO Brian Molefe’s R30-million Eskom “golden handshake”;


• November 2017: Pauli van Wyk releases the first in a five-part investigation into SARS’ second-in-command, Jonas Makwakwa, that would be the undoing of Makwakwa and his boss, commissioner Tom Moyane;


• October 2018: Pauli van Wyk unleashes The Great VBS Heist and exposes Julius Malema and Brian Shivambu as the thieves-in-chief;


• March 2019: Kevin Bloom releases his Pondo King/Namaqualand investigation detailing how the king of Western Pondoland had signed a contract with a Chinese company to lease a pristine stretch of the Wild Coast to develop a “Disney Playground”. The contract was stopped as a result of the investigation;


• June 2019: Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s continued exposure of Ace Magashule’s corruption following the release of his bestselling book Gangster State. From the Vrede Dairy scandal, to the “stolen” Pierneef painting, the “asbestos deal” and the Free State contracts scandal. Ace Magashule was expelled, finally, from the ANC in June 2023. He still awaits his trial;


• October 2020: Mark Heywood brings to light the PPE corruption in Gauteng. Thanks to his work, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has recovered hundreds of millions of rands so far;


• February 2021: Pieter-Louis Myburgh reveals how Health Minister Zweli Mkhize awarded a dodgy R150-million communications contract to Digital Vibes. The scandal ultimately resulted in Mkhize stepping down as minister;


• April 2021: Rebecca Davis and Victoria O’Regan’s exposé of DA Western Cape boss Bonginkosi Madikizela’s fake qualifications resulted in his resignation;


• September 2021: Mark Heywood exposes the PPE Red Roses scandal around an irregularly awarded tender to the amount of R515-million. The matter has been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority following an investigation by the SIU;


• May 2022: After years of Jessica Bezuidenhout doggedly reporting on and investigating Trillian and Transnet, Eric Wood and Siyabonga Gama are arrested;


• August 2022: Peter Fabricius and Pauli van Wyk expose the secret visit by Vladimir Putin’s No 2, Igor Sechin, to South Africa;


• October 2022: Rebecca Davis exposes UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng for misleading the university’s governing bodies. Phakeng has since left. The report on her performance should be released by the end of the year;


• November 2022: Ferial Haffajee exposes Joburg Roads Agency head Tshepo Mahanuke’s fake qualifications. Following this, Mahanuke was placed on special leave pending an investigation and then fired in June 2023;


• February 2023: Rebecca Davis exposes the SA Tourism/ Tottenham Hotspur proposed R1-billion deal. Thanks to her reporting, the deal was stopped;


• 2016-2023: Marianne Thamm doggedly pursued Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe. In 2024, Hlophe was finally impeached;


• March 2023: Kevin Bloom details the four cartels operating within Eskom; and


• August 2024: Investigative reports by Pauli van Wyk (Daily Maverick) and Kyle Cowan (News24) reveal that Justice Minister Thembi Simelane took a loan of more than half a million rand from a company that brokered unlawful investments of R349-million into VBS Mutual Bank by the Polokwane Municipality while she was mayor of the city in 2016.