Africa’s first investigative environmental journalism unit

Combining traditional investigative reporting with data analysis and geo-mapping to expose eco-offences and track organised criminal syndicates.

You can help us to investigate. Find out how.

Explore our maps & tools:

LATEST INVESTIGATIONS

Coal’s slow death in Mpumalanga
As jobs disappear from the coal belt, Middelburg’s economy is buckling. Unpaid rates, collapsing businesses and stalled transition support are deepening the crisis
Oxpeckers Reporters
20 January, 2026

Eswatini’s coal comeback: From green promises to black fuel
The approval of a new thermal coal power project derails the kingdom’s green transition efforts, and marginalises local residents, reports Phathizwe Zulu
Oxpeckers Reporters
29 January, 2026

Eswatini’s coal comeback: From green promises to black fuel
The approval of a new thermal coal power project derails the kingdom’s green transition efforts, and marginalises local residents, reports Phathizwe Zulu
Oxpeckers Reporters
29 January, 2026

Coal’s slow death in Mpumalanga
As jobs disappear from the coal belt, Middelburg’s economy is buckling. Unpaid rates, collapsing businesses and stalled transition support are deepening the crisis
Oxpeckers Reporters
20 January, 2026

Dawie Groenewald’s Botswana hunting dispute

A leaked recording, court orders and company records place the controversial South African at the centre of a high-stakes struggle over a lucrative Okavango hunting concession...
09 January, 2026
Broken promises: Why South Africa’s Fairtrade farm workers feel short-changed

The international certification system promised to help dismantle inequalities on wine farms, but many workers say reality falls far short of promises made...
12 December, 2025
Deep threats of drilling the Orange Basin

Climate change, over-fishing and oil-related pollution are collapsing the marine environment off the West Coast. Now there’s the added threat of off-shore oil and gas exploration...
14 November, 2025
Court case tackles not-so-proudly-South African solar power

A landmark High Court case challenges the government and independent power producers to apply localisation laws designed to drive South Africa’s green industrial development...
07 November, 2025
Inside renewable energy land deals

Long-term leases turn public land into corporate profit, but how are these deals structured, and are communities seeing their share? #PowerTracker investigates...
17 October, 2025
Sand baroness’ unfettered mining highlights crisis on the banks of the Limpopo River

Judge slams authorities for not stopping illegal sand mining, but Limpopo businesswoman insists she has the right to mine. Chris Gilili investigates...
19 September, 2025
People power: Off-grid communities light up

Local organisations are pioneering off-grid solutions for rural households left waiting in the dark by Eskom. Thabo Molelekwa investigates...
05 September, 2025
Red flags along KZN’s South Coast

Andiswa Matikinca tracks concerns around critical minerals mining applications – and now a small harbour – in KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism mecca...
15 August, 2025
People who own the sun

#PowerTracker visits a solar project owned by a township cooperative that serves as a model for energy democracy in action...
31 July, 2025
The Boegoeberg Blues: A small Nama tribe holds the key to the Orange Oil Basin’s future

A landmark ConCourt ruling has made the Nama people the gate-keepers of ambitious plans to turn the Northern Cape into an energy and mining hub. John Grobler investigates...
18 July, 2025
Poachers’ partners: When Kruger’s rangers turn rogue

Insiders describe why, and how, rangers sworn to protect wildlife collude with poaching syndicates slaughtering rhinos. Tulani Ngwenya investigates...
09 June, 2025
Beyond the Grid: Pinging power from farms to factories

Solar power moves virtually from farmland in North West province to factories hundreds of kilometres away. How does it work, and what does it mean for the energy transition?...
22 May, 2025
Where is Zimbabwe’s cyanide queen?

Police are keeping mum about the extradition of Li Song, wanted in connection with the use of poison in illegal wildlife trade. Pamenus Tuso investigates...
08 May, 2025
Namibia plans to become an energy powerhouse – but is it realistic?

Namibia is pinning its economic hopes on development of the Orange Oil Basin. What does this mean for a small economy not ready for a major oil rush? John Grobler investigates...
30 April, 2025
Whose land, whose power? South Africa’s renewable energy conundrum

Wind farms feed power into the national grid, but the stories behind the land deals are rarely told. Tunicia Phillips investigates a case study in the Eastern Cape...
15 April, 2025
On the trail of lithium smugglers in Southern Africa

International data shows a recent boom in lithium exports from Southern Africa to Chinese markets. Where’s it coming from, and how does it get there? #PowerTracker investigates...
07 April, 2025
Open doors: Official complicity in cross-border rhino horn poaching and smuggling

An Oxpeckers reporter speaks to syndicate insiders about the role of corrupt law enforcement officials enabling cross-border illegal trade in rhino horns...
24 March, 2025
Community trusts are greening the future

Community trusts linked to renewable energy projects are designed to ensure profits benefit the locals. #PowerTracker visits a Free State project to witness their real-world impacts...
17 March, 2025
Limpopo rare earths project aims to clean up

A rare earths venture at the gateway to the Kruger National Park plans to rehabilitate environmental damage caused by at least six decades of mining. Marcia Moyana investigates...
12 February, 2025
Nigerian link in global gorilla trafficking

Daniel Stiles investigates organised transnational networks smuggling great apes from Africa via Nigeria...
07 February, 2025
Mozambique’s pulp fiction

A Portuguese eucalyptus forestry project is rapidly spreading harmful exotic species in Mozambique’s rural areas in order to supply Europe's packaging needs...
16 January, 2025
Free State’s helium gamble: A new energy frontier?

The province is home to SA's biggest gas and helium project. Will it speed up the shift towards renewable energy sources, or hinder progress? Refilwe Mochoari investigates...
10 December, 2024