AmaBhungane

AmaBhungane
MottoDigging dung, fertilising democracy Edit this on Wikidata
Established2010 Edit this on Wikidata (14 years ago)
FoundersSam Sole, Stefaans Brümmer Edit this on Wikidata
Typesnonprofit organization Edit this on Wikidata
CountrySouth Africa Edit this on Wikidata
BudgetR9.7 million
Websiteamabhungane.org Edit this on Wikidata

AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism is an investigative journalism organisation focusing primarily on exposing political corruption in South Africa and neighbouring countries. They say that their name means “dung beetles” in isiZulu, one of the indigenous languages of South Africa.[1] They claim they are “digging dung, fertilising democracy.”[2]

Their “#GuptaLeaks” investigations have produced many stories over the years that exposed substantive political corruption in the South African government, recognised by several prestigious awards for investigative journalism. These reports suggested that the Gupta family had ”captured the state” through their friendship with then-President Jacob Zuma and seem to have contributed to 2016 electoral defeats by the ANC in South Africa's largest cities, the defeat of Zuma as president of the African National Congress on 18 December 2017, and then to Zuma's resignation as head of state on 14 February 2018.[3] They've also contributed to the Paradise Papers exposé[4] and many other reports relating to the South African political economy.

  1. ^ South Africa has 11 official languages, 9 indigenous languages plus English and Afrikaans. Zulu is the first language of 23 percent of the population, and is the most common first language. English is the primary language of government. See The Economist, "Tongues under threat", 22 January 2011, p. 58.
  2. ^ amaBhungane, Wikidata Q23927926
  3. ^ Norimitsu Onishi (14 February 2018). "Jacob Zuma Resigns as South Africa's President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Wikidata Q56221018. AmaBhungane was not mentioned in this New York Times report, but amaBhungane's leadership in exposing the political corruption that led to ANC electoral losses and Zuma's resignation is documented in the numerous awards they have received for this work.
  4. ^ "amaBhungane - Paradise Papers: SA names aplenty in massive new tax haven leak". amabhungane.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.