Tag: investigative journalism

Behind the façade of South Africa lies a brutal shadow world. Mafias, cartels and crime syndicates rule it, locked in a ruthless war over the country’s riches. The tobacco mafia dominates its trade. The water tanker mafia exploits scarcity. The taxi mafia thrives, alongside the hospital mafia and the construction mafia. The kidnapping mafia expands its reach.

Originally, the Venda Building Society, VBS Mutual Bank was a small, little-known lender in Limpopo before it rocketed from obscurity in 2016 by giving President Jacob Zuma a controversial home loan to repay the state for improvements to his Nkandla homestead.

This timely book analyses the crisis and chaos of journalism in contemporary South Africa at a period when the media and their role are frequently at the centre of public debate. The transition to digital news has been messy, random and unpredictable.