When readers want a more in-depth look at what is happening in the news, they go to News24's opinion pages, where they find analysis and informed views from people in the know. News24's regular columnists are analysts, authors, journalists and former politicians who are not afraid to air their views and confront the powerful. Learn more about your favourite columnists and meet the latest additions to the line-up.
Sipho Masondo is an experienced multi-award-winning journalist. He started his career at The Herald and its sister publication the Weekend Post in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape. In 2009, he moved to Sunday Times where he stayed until he joined City Press in March 2012. Between 2014 and 2016, Masondo exposed how the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) had captured the education system, selling teacher and administration positions for upwards of R100 000. His Sadtu coverage won him the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism. Masondo has previously won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year and Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards for his coverage of how former Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane bankrupted and ran the department into the ground. Masondo has also won a series of awards for his VBS exposé. You can read his column on a Tuesday.
Nthabi Nhlapo is the editor of News24's wellness and relationships section. She's been a journalist for the past 18 years, having written for various publications, including regional newspapers, magazines (Drum and Move), and business-to-business publications. Nthabi is passionate about women's issues, current affairs and writing lifestyle articles that spark conversations. Her most recent research paper was a qualitative vignette study of how various factors affect the formulation of media reports about children who are victims or perpetrators of crime. Soon after she cut her teeth in journalism, Nhlapo studied commerce. She holds a master's in journalism and media studies and is in the last leg of completing a Bachelor of Laws degree. Nhlapo is published on a Saturday.
Ebrahim Harvey is a political writer and has been a regular columnist to the country's leading newspapers since 1999. He has a master's in public development and a PhD in sociology, both from Wits University. He has been a political activist for all his adult life and was a one=time trade unionist in Cosatu. He is the author of The Great Pretenders: Race and Class Under ANC Rule (2021), and Kgalema Motlanthe: A political biography (2012). Both are published by Jacana. Harvey's column is also published on a Saturday. He is also a regular contributor to Friday Briefing.
Carlos Amato is an editorial cartoonist, freelance illustrator and writer based in Johannesburg. He first worked at a book shop and at Kalahari.net (now known as Takealot) after completing his degree in English studies at the University of Cape Town. He studied animation at the University of Witwatersrand in 2004. Amato worked at Business Day and Sunday Times before getting his first big break at the Mail & Guardian when well-known cartoonist Zapiro, or Jonathan Shapiro, left in 2017. You can catch Amato's cartoon in News24 on a Thursday. You can also look back at his previous cartoons published on the site here.
Adriaan Basson is the editor-in-chief of News24 and author of four books on corruption and current affairs. He is the recipient of multiple awards for investigative journalism, including the CNN African Journalist of the Year for news, as well as the Taco Kuiper Award. Having started his career at Beeld in 2003, Basson worked as an investigative journalist at the Mail & Guardian, where he was a founding member of amaBhungane, before moving to City Press as assistant editor. In 2013, he became editor of Beeld and in 2016 was appointed editor-in-chief of News24. His books include Zuma Exposed (2012) and Blessed by Bosasa (2019). His column appears every Monday morning.
Ralph Mathekga's column appears on Mondays. The political analyst completed his PhD in political studies at the University of Johannesburg in 2019. His thesis focused on the court challenges on affirmative action in South Africa, and the implications for equality and justice. Mathekga previously worked at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) and lectured at the University of the Western Cape. He has also worked at National Treasury in the budget office as a senior policy analyst. Mathekga is the author of When Zuma Goes (2016), Ramaphosa's Turn (2018) and The ANC's Last Decade (2021).
Qaanitah Hunter is an award-winning political journalist and author based in Johannesburg. She is News24's assistant editor of politics and opinions, and writes a political column every Tuesday. She previously worked as a political and investigative reporter for the Sunday Times. In 2019, she became the youngest person to be awarded the Nat Nakasa Award for brave and courageous journalism. She is the author of Balance of Power: Ramaphosa & the Future of South Africa (2019) and co-author of Eight Days in July: Inside the Zuma unrest that set South Africa alight (2021)
Howard Feldman is the author of Smile Dammit! (2019), Carry On Baggage (2014) and Circus South Africa (2016). He is a columnist and the daily breakfast show host at ChaiFM. He is also the head of marketing and people at Synthesis Software Technologies. He was once a lawyer, but prefers not to talk about that. Look out for his column on Tuesdays.
Melanie Verwoerd writes every Wednesday. She is a political analyst and media personality from Cape Town. In 1990, after a brief spell at Oxford in the UK, and following the unbanning of the ANC, she returned to South Africa. Shortly after her return, she joined the ANC. In 2001, Verwoerd was appointed as South African Ambassador to Ireland. Since returning to South Africa in 2013, she has advised companies on political developments in South Africa and Africa. Verwoerd is the author of When We Dance: A Memoir; The Verwoerd who Toyi-Toyied; Our Madiba: Stories and reflections of those who met Nelson Mandela (2013); 21 at 21: The Coming of Age of a Nation (2015); and Never Waste a Good Hysterectomy: Life Lessons From a Crisis (2023).
Mpumelelo Mkhabela has previously worked as a political writer and parliamentary correspondent for City Press and the Sunday Times. Thereafter, he was the deputy editor for Sunday Independent. Mkhabela was also the editor-in-chief at the Daily Dispatch and editor of the Sowetan. He was the station manager at PowerFM before becoming a Fellow for Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria, and a political science lecturer at Unisa. He is the author of The Enemy Within: How the ANC lost the battle against corruption (2022) His column appears on a Wednesday.
Pieter du Toit is News24’s assistant editor for investigations. He is the author of The ANC Billionaires: Big Capital’s Gambit and the Rise of the Few (2022), the bestselling book The Stellenbosch Mafia (2019), and is co-author of Enemy of the People (2017). He has worked at various publications at Media24, and is a former parliamentary correspondent and news editor at Beeld. His column is published every Thursday.
Mbhazima Shilowa joined the trade union movement in 1981. He was elected deputy general-secretary of Cosatu in 1991 and general-secretary in 1993, a position he held until 1999 when he became the premier of Gauteng, South Africa's economic hub. As general-secretary of Cosatu, Shilowa played a key role in the establishment of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). He was a member of the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC from 1997 to 2007, and sat on the central committee of the SACP between 1991 and 2007. He was involved in the multiparty negotiations process (Codesa), which led to the writing of South Africa's democratic Constitution. He was the premier of the province from 1999 to 2008 when he resigned. Shilowa is a founding member of the Congress of the People (Cope). His column is published on a Thursday.
Vanessa Banton manages News24's opinion section. Before moving into the position in July 2020, she was News24's deputy news editor. She previously worked in broadcasting at eNCA as an assignment's editor, as well as SAfm as a senior current affairs producer. She has also lectured at Boston Media House and Varsity College. She compiles the Friday Briefing and Opinions Weekly newsletters.
To find all of News24's columnists' articles you can read them here.