Daily Maverick
🇿🇦 South Africa · English · Center-left · Read with context · dailymaverick.co.za
About Daily Maverick
Founded in 2009 by Branko Brkic and Styli Charalambous, Daily Maverick says it is independently owned and unaffiliated with political parties or larger media groups. Revenue combines reader support, advertising, commercial activity, and philanthropic grants to a related public-benefit organisation.
Daily Maverick is known for investigative and public-interest journalism. Its strong criticism of corruption, official failures, and corporate conduct supports a center-left classification, although coverage also criticises ANC governance and market-oriented policies. Freedom House and RSF describe South Africa as having strong press protections and a vibrant investigative press. Press Council rulings have included both dismissed complaints and findings requiring corrections or apologies, so medium confidence is appropriate. The sample mixes reported investigations with clearly labelled analysis, opinion, and advocacy-oriented commentary.
How to read Daily Maverick
To gain a comprehensive understanding, consult a variety of sources, including both major national outlets and regional publications, to capture the breadth of perspectives in this diverse nation.
Springbok Women’s coach Swys de Bruin steps down before Black Ferns Test
Swys de Bruin will not be on the touchline when the Springbok Women face the Black Ferns in a historic Test at FNB Stadium on Saturday, September 5. South African Rugby confirmed on September 3 that h…
ANALYSIS: Khan out, Khumalo cleared as Crime Intelligence power shifts
Two years after accusing his national boss of criminality, abuse of secret-service funds and nepotism, Crime Intelligence deputy head Major General Feroz Khan has been dismissed from the South African…
After The Bell: What does your WhatsApp profile picture say about you?
Before a business meeting, many people once checked their appearance in a mirror. Now, with fewer face-to-face meetings and more conversations on Zoom, Teams and WhatsApp, that first impression often …
OP-ED: Civil society challenged trophy hunting quotas. Did government listen?
South Africa’s new trophy-hunting quotas provide the numbers, but little explanation of how the government arrived at them. Environment Minister David Maynier’s August 31 notice authorizes the export …
Enough talk: It’s time to make literacy a right in South Africa
South Africa has spent years declaring literacy a priority, but 81% of Grade 4 pupils still cannot read with comprehension. The poorest children in no-fee schools, particularly those whose mother tong…
AGE OF ACCOUNTABLITY: Criminal charges ‘don’t automatically force municipal managers to step aside’
Criminal charges alone do not force a municipal manager to step aside, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has told Parliament. His response has direct relevanc…
OBITUARY: Roy Wallisch, who lit up Sea Point’s shopping strip, dies of a broken heart
Roy Wallisch made Balletique impossible to miss. Its pavement mannequins wore bright bikinis and speedos, while tiny fairies, disco balls and flashing red-and-green lights filled the colourful shop on…
classroom fear: Gauteng’s school safety crisis triggers raids, CCTV, and private security at high-risk institutions
At Badirile Secondary School in Khutsong, authorities found knives, a panga, drugs, vapes and other prohibited items during a South African Police Service-led search-and-seizure operation. The haul ha…
GROUNDUP: Joburg mom’s R2.6-million water bill reversed after meter confirmed as faulty
A faulty water meter turned a Johannesburg mother’s ordinary municipal bill into a liability of more than R2.9 million. After a Public Protector intervention, Johannesburg Water credited Jenny-Lee Bot…
ANALYSIS: Set piece versus flair? The Boks-All Blacks rivalry is more nuanced than that
The Springboks and All Blacks have turned their latest rivalry into a contest over what rugby should look like. New Zealand arrived in South Africa portraying its own approach as the game’s model, whi…
HEALTHCARE ACCESS: Palliative care awareness critically low despite its recognition as a human right
Palliative care remains poorly understood despite being recognised as a human right, according to an appeal for greater awareness and access. Advocates argue that it should form part of universal heal…
Our broken justice system needs a little local innovation
The evidence emerging from South Africa’s Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is described as deeply damaging to confidence in the criminal justice system. For victims, the consequences of a system that fa…
20 Questions: 20 questions with Mabatho Marakalla
Mabatho Marakalla’s online shopping habits include one particularly random purchase: a tambourine. Her latest phone screenshot, however, shows a pair of heels she wants but considers far too expensive…
‘A Singular Journey’: Feminist Activist Gloria Steinem Dies at 92
Gloria Steinem, whose voice helped define the modern feminist movement in the United States, has died at 92. Her foundation announced her death in an Instagram post, closing the life of an organiser, …
Two detained as German police probe arson attack on Munich defence firm
German police arrested a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian nationals, after a suspected arson attack at a construction site near Rohde & Schwarz's headquarters in Munich. A Bavar…
Beijing accuses Pacific forum host Palau of ‘hype’ over its missile test
Beijing has accused Palau of trying to stir up concern over China's ballistic missile test as the Pacific Islands Forum summit host pressed regional governments to condemn the launch. Palau President …
Foreign support, drones fuel Sudan war and possible war crimes, UN probe says
Foreign weapons, military technology and personnel are helping turn Sudan's war into a wider drone conflict, with strikes reaching civilian areas far from the front lines, a U.N. fact-finding mission …
More than 1,700 Indonesian students and teachers sickened this week due to free meals programme
At least 777 students and teachers in Central Java suffered food poisoning after eating government-provided meals, bringing the number sickened by Indonesia's free meals programme this week to more th…
PODCAST: Young Zambians are betting on the copper boom. Will it be different this time?
In Kitwe, the copper boom is visible before a visitor reaches the mine. Hotel billboards advertise “copper-ful” hospitality, trucks carry mining equipment through the streets, and Copperbelt Universit…
JOBS CRISIS OP-ED: Bring back the Basic Education Employment Initiative — SA youth need it urgently
South Africa’s unemployment figures are not just statistics for the young people living through them. They represent millions who want to contribute but cannot find an opening, according to the Masiny…
We can finally ensure 500,000 miners are paid out for silicosis and TB — here’s the problem
South Africa can now move compensation across borders, but the legal track needed to deliver justice to former miners remains unfinished. That gap threatens payments to hundreds of thousands of men wh…
WHAT’S COOKING: Curly mac and cheese with bacon and blue cheese
Cavatappi, the spiral-shaped pasta sometimes called “curly mac,” gives this version of macaroni and cheese a texture that sets it apart from the usual family favourite. It is combined with bacon, onio…
BOOK REVIEW: Is democracy Africa’s path to development? Jakkie Cilliers isn’t so sure
Jakkie Cilliers is challenging one of the most familiar assumptions about Africa’s future: that democracy naturally provides the route to development. In Africa’s Road to Prosperity: 10 Things to Know…
Trump Promises Aggressive Campaign Push for Republicans in Tight Midterms
Donald Trump has promised Republican lawmakers that he will spend the final month before the midterm elections campaigning heavily for the party, echoing the relentless schedule of his 2024 presidenti…
At Least 14 Serbians Targeted With Mercenary Spyware Ahead of Local Elections, Rights Group Says
At least 14 people from Serbia’s civil society were targeted with advanced spyware before local elections in March, in what the SHARE Foundation called the country’s largest documented wave of such in…
Iran war escalation raises concern over civilian death toll
A wedding near the Strait of Hormuz became one of the latest reported scenes of civilian death as fighting between Iran and the United States intensified again. Iran’s health minister said 18 people d…
Two Palestinian teenagers killed in West Bank raid by Israeli settlers and army
Two Palestinian teenagers, aged 16 and 19, were killed in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah during an attack involving Israeli settler militants and army troops, according to the Palestinian health m…
FUNDING CLIFF: Postgraduate funding crisis prompts launch of new bursary toolkit
South Africa’s postgraduate students are confronting a funding cliff. While the National Student Financial Aid Scheme receives more than R50 billion a year for undergraduates, the National Research Fo…
GREEN DREAMS PIVOT: Short‑term relief from Strait of Hormuz tension is great for Sasol’s fragile recovery story
“Everyone wants it until they have to pay for it,” Sasol CFO Walt Bruns said of sustainable aviation fuel. The remark captures the commercial problem behind the company’s decision to unwind its key SA…
ANALYSIS: SA turns right as Ramaphosa hands economic levers to the private sector
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s strongest endorsement yet of free-market economics came as Eskom reported its annual results and reached agreement with Business Leadership South Africa over the utility’s …
SPOTLIGHT: Lenacapavir gains ground as Western Cape uptake passes 3,600
At a mobile clinic in Cape Town’s Philippi Village, 20-year-old Olwam Plaatjie has switched from a two-monthly HIV-prevention injection to lenacapavir, administered every six months. Small nodules for…
ACCOUNTABILITY GAPS: Environmental ‘watchdog’ barks, but hides names of malpractice offenders
South Africa’s environmental watchdog has opened its disciplinary files, but only slightly. Five years after Daily Maverick began asking how the profession polices ethical and professional conduct, th…
POLICING IN CRISIS: SAPS fires Feroz Khan as criminal case, Madlanga probe continue
Major General Feroz Khan has lost his position in the South African Police Service after failing to appear for an expedited disciplinary hearing, but his legal troubles are continuing on two other fro…
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Extortion claims, cop probe fail to stop ANC Joburg candidate’s clearance to run
Sithembiso Zungu, a senior ANC Johannesburg leader facing allegations linked to three extortion cases and a police criminal assault inquiry, has been cleared to stand again in Ward 122. Zungu, the Cit…
Collaborative governance — election buzzword or game-changer for municipalities?
Better programmes alone will not necessarily improve children’s lives if the systems around them remain fragmented. With South Africa’s local government elections only months away, the article argues …
GANGS AND GOVERNANCE: Gayton McKenzie comes off as gangster’s proxy for sharing untested claims about JP Smith
A Cabinet minister has given public reach to an allegation that came from a gangster, without first establishing whether it is true. Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Sport, Arts and Culture Minister an…
The whisky ad and the Women’s March: When the struggle becomes a marketing campaign
A Glenlivet whisky advert uses the 1956 Women’s March to sell alcohol, pairing images of historic women with Dineo Moeketsi Langa reflecting and raising a toast. For a historian and whisky lover, the …