South Africa is a place of profound challenges as well as enormous opportunities. We are often reminded that democracy is a fragile thing, easy to assail and difficult to defend. And we know that the work to sustain freedom in all things – social, political, and economic – is always worth the effort.
In marking our 35th anniversary, then, we decided to give something back to our origin country and thought the best way to do so was with an initiative to help underpin South Africa’s democratic society.
Among those who toil the hardest to keep society honest, and often for little or no reward, are journalists of enterprise, ingenuity, and courage.
So, we resolved to create an annual prize for the very best of investigative journalism in South Africa – the Ninety One For Tomorrow Award.
The award will go to a work of investigative journalism that illuminates scandal, malfeasance, corruption, dishonesty or criminality involving individuals or groups in government, parastatals, or private enterprise which, if left undetected, would have damaged the integrity of South Africa’s democracy.
We want to ensure the winner has all the means necessary to devote the time and effort required for the ongoing pursuit of journalism. The award will carry annual prize money of R1 million.
However, Ninety One did not want to wait a year to make the first award. So, in a one-off initiative to launch the Ninety One For Tomorrow Award and to coincide with the year of Ninety One’s 35th anniversary, the firm exercised its discretion to honour two people for their investigative journalism.
Ninety One For Tomorrow Award
They are two of the most impactful and recognisable voices in South African journalism, unwavering in their commitment to finding and telling the truth in the interests of sustaining our democracy: Jeff Wicks and Pieter-Louis Myburgh.
Jeff is a journalist with News24’s investigations team. He has a reputation for reporting on the criminal underworld, organised crime, and targeted killings. Pieter-Louis Myburgh is best known for his exposés on corruption and state capture.
Jeff and Pieter-Louis share the R1m prize money. They have our respect, gratitude, and best wishes.
Judge Dennis Davis is the chair of our independent panel of judges. The fellow panellists are Pauli van Wyk, a financial crime investigator and former investigative reporter with Daily Maverick; Professor Johann Kirsten, the Director of the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University; the journalist Redi Tlhabi; and Alex Russell, the Foreign Editor of the Financial Times.
Entries will be solicited throughout the year, and the winner will be announced every February, starting in 2027.
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