On 23 August 2021, a quiet, hardworking single mom was shot down as she drove home. Her name was Babita Deokaran, chief accountant at the Gauteng Department of Health. The izinkabi paid to kill her were caught, but who ordered her murder, and why? Crime reporter Jeff Wicks’s pursuit of answers would profoundly change, and even endanger, his life. This is an explosive investigation into state capture and a moving tribute to the cost of integrity.
Jeff Wicks is a Johannesburg-based investigative journalist with News24. Over nearly two decades, he has focused on organised crime and targeted killings, leading probes into the murders of Charl Kinnear and Babita Deokaran. A two-time winner of the Taco Kuiper Award for investigative journalism, he received the Nat Nakasa Award for courageous journalism in 2024. He co-authored the bestseller Eight Days in July.
Tara Roos analyses South African politics in an era of rising populism and uncertainty. She examines structural weaknesses, strategic errors, and party identity crises that have led to unstable coalition politics. Political parties are grouped as winners, losers, or survivors, highlighting successes, failures, and growth patterns. In a democracy still shaped by the promises of 1994, Where to from here? explores how politicians have failed the people and calls on the electorate to demand accountability and better leadership.
Tara Roos is a political analyst and the parliamentary correspondent for Business Day. A former parliamentary researcher, she runs the widely read Tara’s Take Substack newsletter and co-hosts The Bill podcast alongside CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit.
In early 1976, as white South Africans danced to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” the Soweto uprising of 16 June shattered any sense of normality. As a young reporter, Max du Preez witnessed the first stones and shots that morning. Raised in a conservative Afrikaner Christian Nationalist family, he began questioning his upbringing and has since witnessed South Africa’s darkest and brightest moments. In The End of Normal, he reflects on apartheid’s roots, the lasting impact of 16 June, and how ordinary people supported injustice.
Max du Preez is a South African author, columnist, and documentary filmmaker, and was the founding editor of Vrye Weekblad. Vrye Weekblad Online was launched on 5 April 2019, again with Du Preez as editor. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his journalism. This is his eleventh book.
Parliament has peculiar traditions and unique titles for officials – such as speaker, whip, mace, doorkeepers, readings, pairing, and divisions – that can be confusing. Why is a quiet chairperson still called “speaker,” and why must a newly elected one be literally dragged to the chair? Why are bills read twice? This book answers these questions and more in an engaging, often humorous way, with chapters full of true stories about amusing situations and distinctive parliamentary personalities.
Dr. Pieter Mulder was a member of parliament for 30 years and visited numerous parliaments around the world. Before his political career, he was a lecturer, associate professor, and head of the Department of Communication at North-West University, where he also earned his doctorate, and he completed postdoctoral studies in Wisconsin. Drawing on his extensive experience, he has compiled a unique book on parliament, filled with humor and true stories from parliamentary life.
Having survived scandal, controversy, and the Zuma years, Paul Mashatile has risen through the ranks to the doorstep of the presidency. Over a 30-year political career, he has successfully navigated the corruption and factionalism that the ANC is known for. Now he wants to take charge of the party – and the Union Buildings. The question is: Should he? Is Paul Mashatile suitable for the highest office?
Pieter du Toit is the author of the bestselling books The Stellenbosch Mafia and The ANC Billionaires. He is the deputy editor of News24.com.
Zama Zama exposes the hidden workings of South Africa’s illicit gold trade through interviews with miners, syndicate insiders, intelligence agents, and law enforcement agents. It explores a violent underworld of gang wars, corruption, and brutal enforcement, detailing how gold is smuggled, laundered, and reintroduced into the global market via private refineries, fake permits, and VAT scams. The book also traces the illicit gold trade’s international reach, showing the links between underground mining and organised crime, terrorism financing, and global corruption networks.
Graham Coetzer is an award-winning South African investigative journalist and television producer. His work has taken him on many adventures across Africa. He won the National Press Club Journalist of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the prestigious Taco Kuiper Award, as well as the Global Shining Light Award. He lives in Pretoria.
