These are just some of the battles we've fought.   South Africa has a Constitution that protects media freedom and access to information. But that hasn't stopped government departments, companies and powerful individuals from trying to keep information secret or prevent journalists from publishing.   We've had to challenge those attempts, sometimes through years of litigation. And every victory makes it that much harder for others to use the same tactics to silence journalists or keep the public in the dark.   Nearly 50 years after Black Wednesday, these are battles we still have to fight.   #MediaFreedomDay #BlackWednesday

We also spent five years fighting Steinhoff for access to the full forensic report into its accounting scandal because we believe that the private sector needs to be held accountable as well.   The company had released only a brief summary of the approximately 7,000-page PwC report, claiming the full document was legally privileged.   The Western Cape high court rejected that argument, and in December 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal rejected Steinhoff's appeal and ordered that the report be released, adding: “this is a classic case where the public interest in the disclosure of the Report clearly outweighs any potential harm to Steinhoff … The public interest, more specifically, the right of South African society at large to know the facts about the Steinhoff scandal, goes beyond the narrow interests of Steinhoff, and is best served by exposing the nation’s biggest corporate scandal through complete transparency, to avoid a recurrence.”   Read more: amabhungane.org/steinhoffs-d…

Then, in 2023, the Moti Group obtained a secret court order barring us from publishing further #MotiFiles investigations based on leaked documents. We weren't told about the application or given an opportunity to oppose it.   We challenged the gag order and won, with Judge Roland Sutherland describing the Moti Group's actions as a "most egregious abuse" of the court process.   The judgment was important for investigative journalism as it confirmed that journalists possessing leaked information are not in the same position as people possessing stolen goods, and that protecting confidential sources is essential to their work.   On attempts to prevent publication, Sutherland was clear: "A South African court shall not shut the mouth of the media" unless the specific circumstances convincingly show that publication would not serve the public interest.   The Moti Group subsequently tried to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court, but its application was rejected.   Read more: amabhungane.org/victory-a-ma…

In 2008, state intelligence operatives intercepted the communications of amaBhungane's Sam Sole while he was reporting on the corruption case against Jacob Zuma. After discovering that he had been spied on, we challenged the constitutionality of South Africa's surveillance law, Rica. In 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled in our favour, declaring key provisions of Rica unconstitutional and the state's practice of bulk surveillance unlawful. The ruling established stronger safeguards against state surveillance, including protections for journalists and their confidential sources. Read more: amabhungane.org/210202-relea…

In 2011, the Mail & Guardian published a largely blacked-out amaBhungane investigation into then presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj, alleging that he had lied under oath about payments received from businessman Schabir Shaik. Maharaj laid criminal charges against the Mail & Guardian’s editor and amaBhungane’s journalists, even though we had been censored from publishing the information.   We sought permission to publish the records, but then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba refused. After years of litigation, the High Court overturned her decision in 2016. The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the subsequent appeals in 2017, confirming our victory.   Read more: amabhungane.org/resounding-v…

We've also spent years fighting for access to information through the courts.   In 2013, after a protracted legal battle with the Department of Public Works, we released more than 12,000 pages of records relating to the state-funded upgrades at Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence. The department had initially refused access, citing national security because Nkandla was a national key point. Although important records remained outstanding, the documents we obtained helped expose how public money had been misspent on the project.   Read more: amabhungane.org/amab-release…

In 2010, we helped establish the Right2Know Campaign to oppose the Protection of Information Bill, better known as the Secrecy Bill, which threatened harsh criminal penalties for disclosing classified information. On the anniversary of Black Wednesday that year, Right2Know launched a week of action against the bill.   Read more: amabhungane.org/join-the-r2k…

It was part of the apartheid state's attempt to silence those challenging its abuses, and the journalists reporting on them.   Almost five decades later, South Africa has a Constitution that protects freedom of the press and access to information. But attempts to suppress information and prevent journalists from publishing haven't disappeared.   At amaBhungane, fighting secrecy has been part of our work from the beginning.

On 19 October 1977, the apartheid government banned The World and Weekend World newspapers and detained their editor, Percy Qoboza, and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste. Just over a month earlier, Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko had died in police custody. The crackdown on 19 October also saw Black Consciousness organisations outlawed and scores of activists detained.   The day became known as Black Wednesday.

Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson will appear in Western Cape High Court this week alongside 12 of their co-accused on charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

On Black Wednesday, amaBhungane is once again challenging attempts to keep court proceedings out of public view. Together with Media24, Daily Maverick and the Campaign for Free Expression, we've launched an urgent court application challenging the exclusion of journalists and the public from the trial of former State Security Agency officials Thulani “Silence” Dlomo and Patrick Mshothola. The two are facing charges relating to the alleged misappropriation of R12-million in state intelligence funds. Following a court order last week, proceedings have been conducted behind closed doors.  We argue that the order does not justify a blanket exclusion of the media and public. We're asking the court to ensure that the trial is open, with any restrictions on genuinely sensitive evidence properly motivated and considered individually. The timing is particularly significant. On 19 October 1977, the apartheid government banned The World and Weekend World newspapers, detained editor Percy Qoboza and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste, and outlawed Black Consciousness organisations. The crackdown came just weeks after Steve Biko died in police custody. The day became known as Black Wednesday. The apartheid government wanted to silence its opponents and stop journalists from exposing its abuses. Forty-nine years later, South Africa has constitutional protections for press freedom and open justice. Yet here we are, on Black Wednesday, going to court to challenge the exclusion of journalists and the public from a trial involving alleged wrongdoing by state intelligence officials. The trial is a matter of significant public interest.  The urgent application is due to be argued today. Read more: news24.com/investigations/un… #MediaFreedomDay #BlackWednesday

D-Day looms for alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield and his co-accused wife, Nicole Johnson, with the couple to appear in the Western Cape High Court for their organised crime trial. amabhungane.org/analysis-cap…

AmaBhungane achieved another court victory in September when the Constitutional Court declared the Public Procurement Act invalid and unconstitutional because Parliament had failed to facilitate a “reasonable public participation process”. This judgment reopens the door for us to advocate for a law that can both facilitate effective government procurement and address the pervasive tender-related corruption, but it also strengthens our democracy by reminding parliamentarians that they cannot treat the public participation process as a mere “tick-box” exercise. saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/202…

The Guptas’ raid on the rehabilitation fund was exposed in October 2016, when then finance minister Pravin Gordhan asked the Pretoria high court to issue an order confirming that he could not interfere in the decision by all the major banks to close the Guptas’ bank accounts. Gordhan was under huge political pressure to intervene after Cabinet – under then President Jacob Zuma – appointed him to an inter-ministerial task team that was supposed to “engage” with the banks. Gordhan not only boycotted the task team but took the highly unusual step of approaching the court and, in the process, delivered a never-before-seen Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report on the Guptas’ financial affairs. The report showed that the FIC – the government agency that monitors all financial flows – had red-flagged R6.8-billion in “suspicious and unusual” Gupta-linked transactions, including R1.3-billion that had been transferred out of Optimum’s rehabilitation trust, a fund that is supposed to be ring-fenced to pay for the environmental clean-up after a mine shuts down. amabhungane.org/gordhan-blow…

It's become fashionable in some quarters to pretend that State Capture never happened. But now key Gupta functionaries Ronica Ragavan and Pushpaveni Govender have been convicted of fraud and money laundering involving R107.5m from the Optimum and Koornfontein mine rehabilitation trusts. Three Gupta-linked companies were also convicted. news24.com/southafrica/crime…