Intersecting beats for deeper engagement

Sowetan: Migration reporter exposes systemic corruption

Sowetan started in 1981 as a liberation struggle print publication proudly serving South African Readership. The publication is digitally present online under the name Sowetanlive.com and is one of South Africa’s largest online news publications, with a highly engaged audience of more than 1.5-million readers per month. In addition to publishing content from the Sowetan publication, the website posts  unique online-only general, political and entertaining news.

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> The Story

When our RFW corps member at Sowetan, South Africa, attempted to report on the living conditions of a displaced community of African migrants who lost their home when a fire broke in their building, Koena Mashalle who covers the immigration beat found herself investigating the fire itself and pressuring public authorities to track down the owner who abandoned the building in a hazardous state. Upon comparing the actual costs of displacement shacks offered by the government to the cost the government had spent, Koena was able to expose the government’s negligence and how they were scammed by the contractor paving the way for a bigger conversation, not only about how migrants were discriminated against but also about the level of corruption at play.

“The initial goal was to expose whoever was responsible. By the end, the goal became to understand how this company was commissioned and will the city fix the hazardous project where the building caught fire. It moved to covering how corruption is so endemic!”
Nwabisa Makunga
Editor in Chief

Impact Summary:

Institutional impact

Due to Koena’s persisting request, the city ordered an audit to find out the owner of the building and eventually he was exposed.

Individual Impact - Media Amplification

The story received traction in South African media and audiences because it cast the spotlight on how the state was being scammed by contractors. It raised awareness of the discrimination between South Africans and migrant communities when it came to safety concerns and living conditions.

Internal Institutional Impact

The story led to an increase in subscription rates at Sowetan.

Takeaway

The intersection between the migration beat, humanitarian beat and corruption beat allowed the story to gain more depth and thus raise more awareness and influence change. 

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