South African journalist Micah Reddy and his local fixer Kooki Mahmoud have been missing in Djibouti since about noon on Saturday.
Reddy worked for amaBhungane from 2017 to 2023. AmaBhungane’s managing parter Sam Sole said: “Micah is a very gifted and fearless journalist, who has never been afraid to put himself personally on the line, as he showed in some of the aftermath of the #GuptaLeaks and other more recent stories. That makes his disappearance – and that of his local fixer Kooki Mahmoud – intensely worrying.”
Sole emphasised that according to the information amaBhungane had, Reddy’s current investigation was not focussed on the “Republic of Djibouti or its government”.
Angela Quintal, the Africa Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists said the organisation was deeply concerned by reports that Reddy and Mahmoud were missing. CPJ urged authorities to immediately clarify their whereabouts and ensure their safety.
Reddy has written many important stories over the past decade, including exposing mismanagement at trade union NUMSA and exposing the dealings of businessman Zunaid Moti.
According to AmaBhungane
Reddy previously served as the national coordinator for media freedom and diversity at the Right2Know Campaign.
Reddy holds a master’s degree in African studies from Oxford University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Wits University.
His journalism career has also included work in Yemen, where he served as managing editor of the Yemen Times in Sana’a.
He has also worked as an editor in Egypt and taken part in various freelance research and reporting projects, most recently in Ukraine.
He along with Pauli van Wyk, formerly with Daily Maverick’s Scorpio investigative unit, recently published a searing expose of Julius Malema’s business dealings in the book Malema.Money. Power. Patronage.
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