amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
Description
AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism is an independent, non-profit newsroom based in South Africa, launched in 2010. Its name is isiZulu for the dung beetles, reflecting its self-description as digging up wrongdoing to fertilise democracy. It develops investigative journalism to expose corruption, corporate malfeasance and abuses such as institutional independence being undermined.
It aims to promote free, capable media and an open, accountable, just democracy. Its small team of investigators has forced information into the public domain. Its exposes have contributed to political and corporate change, including the resignation of South Africa’s president in February 2018.
Beyond its own reporting, amaBhungane trains and supports other investigative journalists. It has hosted around 80 fellows and numerous workshops. Some alumni went on to found similar centres elsewhere in Southern Africa, and amaBhungane has supported and collaborated with them. This included incubating a separate non-profit, IJ Hub, from 2019 to mid-2021.
Its advocacy work has secured information flows for journalists and the public. It helped found the campaign that stopped South Africa’s Secrecy Bill and secured legislative amendments such as transparent company ownership. It has litigated to preserve public access to court records, to strike down intrusive state surveillance practices, and to use access-to-information law in and out of the courts.
AmaBhungane makes its stories available to publication partners such as the Daily Maverick and News24, without being owned by or structurally part of either. It is registered as a non-profit company and as a Public Benefit Organisation in South Africa. It is governed by a board and funded by grants and donations rather than by selling its stories.
It accepts tips that protect sources’ identities. It is affiliated with South Africa’s Press Council and subject to its Press Ombud complaints process.
Latest news
SA journalist Micah Reddy, ‘local fixer’ go missing in Djibouti
South African journalist Roshan Micah Reddy, who is attached to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), went missing in Djibouti on Saturday, along with his “local fixer”, Kooki Mahmoud. Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Chrispin...
20 Sep 2026
PetroSA was owed R227m. It may end up losing R1.4bn instead.
When state-owned fuel company, PetroSA, walked into the boardroom at its Parow head office, it was owed R227-million. By the time it walked out, it had agreed to a deal so toxic that it now faces the possibility of losing…
17 Sep 2026
Investigation into IGI alleged misconduct stalled, as secret fund millions remain without scrutiny
More evidence has emerged of a seemingly chaotic scramble by South Africa’s intelligence apparatus to neutralise the now-suspended Inspector General of Intelligence (IGI), Imtiaz Fazel. A newly-emerged letter penned by Fazel, dated 9 June 2026 and directed at Parliament, contains…
31 Aug 2026
UPDATE: Eskom admits to R3-billion in payments “outside of contractual terms”
In a seven-page press release on Thursday night, Eskom conceded it had made R3-billion in irregular payments to its diesel suppliers. It stopped short of calling these prepayments – as amaBhungane’s investigation has alleged – instead referring to “advanced payments”…
28 Aug 2026
Eskom paid hundreds of millions for diesel that ‘didn’t exist’
Last month, a group of investigators turned up at the gates of Burgan Terminal, a massive fuel import and storage depot in Cape Town harbour. They were looking for diesel: not to buy it, but to locate 39 million litres…
21 Aug 2026
Daniélle Schaafsma completed her BA Honours in Journalism at Stellenbosch University in 2025 before working as a Food Justice reporter for Daily Maverick. Now, as an editorial intern, she hopes to broaden her skills and cultivate strong journalistic instincts.
18 Aug 2026
Similar organizations
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is a global journalism organization.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is a regional independent non-governmental organization based in Accra, Ghana.