amaBhungane

amaBhungane The amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC is a non-profit company founded to develop investigative journalism in the public interest.

We do so through:
* The best practice of investigations;
* Helping others to do the same; and
* Helping to secure the information rights investigative journalists need to do their work. Through these activities, we hope to promote a free media, and open accountable and just democracy. AmaBhungane is isiZulu for the Dung Beetles. Why non-profit? Investigative journalism helps to promote open, accountable and just democracy by exposing wrongdoing and holding power to account. However, investigative journalism faces internal threats (resource constraints in a commercial and changing media environment) and external threats (restrictive laws, policies and practices). Investigative journalism is an expensive, risky investment. It needs time and resources to succeed; to uncover facts beyond the apparent; to hold the powerful to account. In a purely commercial environment, investigative journalism often struggles to compete with instantly gratifying, fast-food journalism - the kind that sells papers today but wraps fish tomorrow. Non-profit, donor funded models represent an alternative gaining ground worldwide. Adequate funding without a profit motive helps to ensure that the public interest in the exposure of wrongdoing is served. Legal status, mandate and governance

We are registered in South Africa as a non-profit company, and have Public Benefit Organisation tax-exempt status from the South African Revenue Service. Our mandate is expressed as follows:

"The Object of the Company is to promote open, accountable and just democracy, and a free press capable and worthy of performing this duty. To do so, the Company will develop investigative journalism in the public interest, inter alia by engaging in its best practice, by transferring investigative skills to other journalists, and by helping to secure the information rights investigative journalists need to do their work." Sam Sole and Stefaans Brümmer, veteran investigative journalists, are amaBhungane's joint managing partners.

*For further details visit our website page: http://amabhungane.co.za/page/about-amabhungane

[ICYMI] The Department of Agriculture paid Centurion Bus Manufacturers R26.8-million of a R31-million contract for seven...
16/09/2026

[ICYMI] The Department of Agriculture paid Centurion Bus Manufacturers R26.8-million of a R31-million contract for seven mobile veterinary clinics signed in 2015. More than a decade later, the department has not received a single truck.

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The Constitutional Court will be delivering judgment tomorrow in the procedural challenge to the Public Procurement Act....
16/09/2026

The Constitutional Court will be delivering judgment tomorrow in the procedural challenge to the Public Procurement Act. We joined the City of Cape Town and the Premier of the Western Cape to argue that Parliament had failed in its law-making duties when it passed this law in 2024.

In May, we argued before the Constitutional Court that the timelines Parliament adopted were ludicrously short, that Parliament did not analyse all the public submissions, and that an important new section of the Bill was introduced without any opportunity for public participation.

Read more about our challenge here: https://amabhungane.org/public-procurement-bill-constitutional-court/

We believe that Parliament did not take seriously its obligation to give the public a real opportunity to influence the content of the procurement law, and that, as a result, the law will not address the serious weaknesses in our procurement system.

See all the court documents here: https://amabhungane.org/public-procurement-act-challenge-court-documents/

We will share the judgment as soon as we get it tomorrow!

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Want our latest investigations in your inbox?Sign up for the amaBhungane newsletter to get our newest stories, updates a...
16/09/2026

Want our latest investigations in your inbox?

Sign up for the amaBhungane newsletter to get our newest stories, updates and investigations sent directly to you. From deep-dive exposés to important developments in the stories we continue to follow.

Subscribe here: https://amabhungane.org/

Independent investigations take time and resources. If you value amaBhungane’s work exposing abuse of power and wrongdoing in the public interest, please consider supporting us.

Donate here: www.amabhungane.org/support/

In a seven-page press release on Thursday night, Eskom conceded it had made R3-billion in irregular payments to its diesel suppliers.

[ICYMI] Flyfofa Aviation Training received R148-million in bursary funding from the National Skills Fund. Our investigat...
16/09/2026

[ICYMI] Flyfofa Aviation Training received R148-million in bursary funding from the National Skills Fund. Our investigation confirmed its claimed flying hours did not match pilot logbooks and a credit note of R3.8-million had to be issued by Flyfofa to the NSF over outstanding hours.

The NSF gave Flyfofa until 30 June 2026 to recover the flying hours it wrongly claimed for. The deadline passed without the hours recovered, and the NSF says the school did not respond to its last letter.

Read the full story here:

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[ICYMI] UPDATE: Following an 18-month investigation, Eskom concedes it made R3-billion in irregular payments to diesel s...
15/09/2026

[ICYMI] UPDATE: Following an 18-month investigation, Eskom concedes it made R3-billion in irregular payments to diesel suppliers.

AmaBhungane’s investigation alleged that Eskom made at least R3-billion in prepayments to little-known suppliers who were struggling to deliver enough diesel to Ankerlig when the country was faced with loadshedding in 2025.

While Eskom’s 7-page press release did not use the word “prepayments”, it did refer to “advanced payments” and what it calls “payments outside of the contractual terms”.

Read our latest update:

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[ICYMI] South Africa’s democracy is representative and participatory; Parliament is required to give effect to the right...
15/09/2026

[ICYMI] South Africa’s democracy is representative and participatory; Parliament is required to give effect to the right of the public to be heard and have their views considered. But our experience of the Public Procurement Bill process showed this is just an illusion.

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Watch this video to learn more about the submissions amaBhungane recently made on proposed amendments to the Nonprofit O...
15/09/2026

Watch this video to learn more about the submissions amaBhungane recently made on proposed amendments to the Nonprofit Organisations Act and why we believe our laws may unduly restrict the operation of NPOs without adequately addressing the risk of NPOs being used for terrorist financing.

In August this year amaBhungane made submissions to the Parliamenta...

WATCH: Learn more about the irregular water tanker tenders awarded by Johannesburg Water that we wrote about earlier thi...
14/09/2026

WATCH: Learn more about the irregular water tanker tenders awarded by Johannesburg Water that we wrote about earlier this year. It’s because of these irregularities that we’ve been advocating for procurement reform – including our challenge in the Constitutional Court.

Procurement is a big focus for amaB – we report on dodgy tenders, we advocate for better procurement systems and now we’re challenging the passing of the Public Procurement Act.

Watch our new video to learn more about the irregular water tanker ...

[ICYMI] Suspended inspector-general of intelligence Imtiaz Fazel’s fight for reinstatement is about more than his own fa...
14/09/2026

[ICYMI] Suspended inspector-general of intelligence Imtiaz Fazel’s fight for reinstatement is about more than his own fate. It is about who, if anyone, watches South Africa’s spies - and what happens when the watchdog is removed while millions in secret funds continue flowing in the dark.

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14/09/2026

In August this year amaBhungane made submissions to the Parliamentary Committee on Finance on an omnibus bill – a bill that amends various pieces of legislation – which sought to address continuing weaknesses in South Africa’s legal framework on anti-money laundering and combatting terrorist financing identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Our focus was on the amendments to the Nonprofit Organisations Act and on whether the existing laws and the proposed amendments (a) respond adequately to FATF’s concerns and (b) do not unduly interfere with legitimate civil society activity.

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