Here you will find Open Secrets’ and our partners’ media statements and open letters to government(s) and corporations. To enquire about public comments on any of the media statements below, email advocacy@opensecrets.org.za.
Why, after more than two decades of democracy in South Africa, is the apartheid archive still kept under lock and key?
The People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa invites members of the public to submit information to be presented at the first hearings.
Address all apartheid-era economic crimes Open Secrets, through its attorneys the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at Wits University, has filed papers to intervene as a friend of the court (amicus) in the review of the Public Protector’s ‘Absa-CIEX’ report. The review proceedings, brought by Absa, the South African Reserve Bank, and Treasury, will…
This is a statement by the South African History Archive (SAHA) The South African History Archive (SAHA) notes with great disappointment and alarm the decision that was handed down by the Johannesburg High Court on 19 March 2018 in the matter of the South African History Archive v South African Reserve Bank and another. Paradoxically, this…
Open Secrets in partnership with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) are taking the fight for accountability for South Africa’s historic economic crimes to Europe using international accountability frameworks.
Joint press release by Open Secrets and CALS UN Independent Expert weighs in on OECD complaint, and NGOs challenge conflicts of interest in Belgian decision-making body A heavy blow has been dealt to two European banks at the centre of the apartheid-era international arms money machine. The implicated banks are KBC Group (previously Kredietbank) and…
____________________________________________________________ The First People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa Delivery of Tribunal Panel’s Final Report Venue: Women’s Jail, Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, South Africa Date: Thursday 20 September 2018 Time: 13:00 – 14:30 ____________________________________________________________ PRESS RELEASE 12 September 2018 The People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime will deliver its final findings to the public…
8 February 2019 State of the Nation Address 2019: Time to Get Serious About Economic Crime An important focus of President Ramaphosa’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) was on the Commissions of Inquiry that have the potential to finally tackle high level corruption in the private and public sector. This includes…
Media Statement| CSWG | 21 March 2019 The struggle against State Capture and corruption in South Africa is a struggle for human rights. This is why the current revelations at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (the Zondo Commission) are important – they lay bare the various networks of looters in the public and…
One year after CALS and Open Secrets brought to light evidence that European banks profited from apartheid, no decision has been made on whether to investigate
Member organisations of the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture call on the Zondo Commission to more robustly uphold the principle of equality before the law.
MEDIA RELEASE 31 July 2019 EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES REFUSE TO INVESTIGATE APARTHEID’S BANKS More than one year after submitting a complaint detailing the role of European banks in supporting and profiting from apartheid, CALS and Open Secrets have been informed that authorities in Belgium and Luxembourg are refusing to investigate these economic crimes. With no clear…
Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie Van Vuuren | 28 August 2014 Withdrawal from the Arms Procurement Commission The Arms Deal was a uniquely damaging moment in our young democratic history. It was concluded after decades of uncontrolled spending on foreign and internal wars by the apartheid regime. From the signing of the contracts in…
Dissolve the Arms Procurement Commission! Launch a full and transparent criminal investigation! Prosecute all implicated in wrongdoing!
Press Statement by Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie Van Vuuren, regarding the release of the Seriti Commission Report into the Arms Deal | 21 April 2016 On the 21st of April 2016, President Jacob Zuma announced the release of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of fraud, corruption, impropriety or irregularity…
Corruption Watch and the Right2Know Campaign have launched an application to review and set aside the findings of the Arms Procurement Commission
Right2Know (R2K) and Corruption Watch (CW) will be in court on 11th and 12th June to finally review and set aside the findings of the Arms Procurement Commission
Andrew Feinstein, Hennie van Vuuren, Paul Holden | 21 August 2019 We welcome the judgment delivered on Wednesday in the High Court that sets aside the findings of the Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the Arms Deal. This is a profound victory for South African civil society and is the result of years of collective…
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture – a coalition of over twenty civil society organisations – is organising a People’s Hearing on State Capture scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on 12 October 2019. The Civil Society Working Group recognises that the Zondo Commission on State Capture in South Africa is making an…
We, the undersigned organisations and individuals committed to justice for historical crimes and social justice in South Africa write in support of the South African History Archive. On Tuesday 03 March 2020 it faces the next round in an epic battle against the South African Reserve Bank in the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal. This…
Media Statement | C19 People’s Coalition | 24 March 2020 A call for social solidarity in South Africa We, as civic organisations, trade unions, organisations of informal workers, faith-based organisations and community structures in South Africa, call on all people, every stakeholder and sector, to contain infection, reduce transmission and mitigate the social and political…
Media Statement | C-19 People’s Coaltion | 26 March 2020 We, as civic organisations, trade unions, organisations of informal workers, faith-based organisations, NGOs and community structures in South Africa, are concerned about the emerging conditions for COVID-19 lockdown in our country. We see military tanks and guns rolling into our communities, but we do not…
Statement – United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner | GENEVA | 27 April 2020 | OECD Member States should consider establishing a mechanism to prevent conflict of interest of their National Contact Points (NPC’s) corporate review process to strengthen the procedure and its credibility. Conflicts of interest must be prevented in order…
Open Secrets and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies | 29 April 2020 | Open Secrets and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) share a common goal of holding businesses accountable for their complicity in crimes against humanity which includes the crime of apartheid. On 27 April 2018, CALS and Open Secrets laid a…
Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa We, the undersigned organisations, commend you for the decisive action taken over the last few weeks in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. We note the efforts of the state in placing the health and wellbeing of people at the forefront of decision-making. However, we are acutely aware of the dire financial…
Daily Maverick | 22 May 2020 | In this letter to the president, organisations raise concerns about corruption during the Covid-19 crisis. Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa We, the undersigned organisations, commend you for the decisive action taken over the last few weeks in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. We note the efforts of the state…
Sifiso Zulu |Eyewitness News | 23 May 2020 | JOHANNESBURG – Civil society organisations have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for transparency in the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds. The Ahmed Khathrada Foundation is one of several groups that raised concerns about potential corrupt activities and the handling of the money in government departments…
Dear Judge Zondo, RE: State Capture Commission of Enquiry Hearings During Covid-19 We write to you as concerned members of the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture, which comprises more than twenty civil society organisations. In February 2020, we presented an Agenda for Action to the Commission, which is based on detailed submissions made…
Media Release | 19 August 2020 |hji and Open Secrets Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets admitted as joint amici (friends of the court) in Competition Appeal Court – involving Dis-Chem & the Competition Commission (pricing of face masks for COVID-19) On 11 August 2020, the Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets…
Justice for apartheid economic crime: Start with the bankers Today many civil society organisations jointly call on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to crack down on corporations who assisted the apartheid state and profited from economic crimes under apartheid. To date they have escaped any accountability for their crimes in supporting and sustaining apartheid –…
Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC) apply to court to prevent the appointments process for the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) from proceeding in secret. 27 October 2020 Today, after 18 months of failing to get a response from the Minister of Finance, civil society organisations Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign,…
Babelegi loses Appeal in the Competition Appeal Court in a matter involving the excessive pricing of face masks during Covid- 19 The Health Justice Initiative (hji) and Open Secrets welcome the news from the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), in a judgement dated 18 November 2020, that the appeal by BABELEGI WORKWEAR AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES CC…
Civil Society Working Group on State Capture | Maverick Citizen | Some of South Africa’s foremost civil society organisations have come out strongly in support of the State Capture Commission and have insisted that former president Jacob Zuma abide by the law. The 13 civil society organisations released a joint statement overnight stating that the…
11 May 2021 | Media Statement | Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets | On 11 August 2020, non-profit organisations Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets submitted a complaint to the Chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee (of the Judicial Service Commission). The detailed complaint focused on the High Court’s damning judgment which finds that…
13 May 2021 Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), have approached the Gauteng High Court to set aside portions of the regulations that were made in terms of section 61(4) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 (“the regulations”), relating to the…
18 May 2021 | Hensoldt, like Rheinmetall, has extensive operations in South Africa. A call on the German government to ensure that German parent companies comply with the country’s ban on the export of arms to Saudi Arabia at all offshore locations. At Hensoldt AG’s Annual General Meeting this year, the civil society organisations Urgewald…
Human Rights organisations ask the Courts to review decisions to export arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture again reiterates that law enforcement agencies should focus its attention on the individuals and corporations who have either allegedly been complicit in state capture or might have information that can assist the state in challenging the state capture networks.
Daily Maverick | Zita Hansungule, Daniel McLaren, Tabitha Paine, Samantha Waterhouse | 19 July 2021 Budget Justice Coalition members are deeply disturbed by the unrest that unfolded across the country over the past few weeks. The violence and destruction are devastating at a time when many in South Africa already face hunger and poverty, made…
Monday 24 January 2022 || Civil Society Working Group on State Capture: Statement – Response to the Zondo Commission’s Report We urge the commission not to shy away from making robust recommendations that can act as catalyst for wholesale state reform and will help to ensure that powerful corporations and individuals that have enabled state…
The High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division: Pretoria has requested the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to end delays in the review application relating to permits enabling weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Media Statement Civil Society organisations take Financial Sector Regulator to court In December 2021, Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), brought an application in the Gauteng High Court against the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). In the spirit of greater transparency and responsiveness to…
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture’s media statement on the president’s response to the State Capture Report.
LHR and Open Secrets in Court Today defending the right to access apartheid records
Civil society organisations call out South African government’s invitation to “Sri Lankan officials with links to alleged war criminals.
Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations welcomes the judgment delivered by the South Gauteng High Court which confirms that judges must be held accountable for their conduct while in active service, even after their retirement.
Democracy dies behind closed doors – Why we demand to know the truth about the Lady R arms shipment.
Open Secrets and the Campaign for Free Expression lodged an information application with the Office of the President asking for the final report (and additional relevant information) on the docking of the Lady R Russian cargo vessel during December 2022.
We’ve added our voice in opposition to Treasury’s attempts to institute severe budget cuts. We believe these cuts are misguided, dangerous to our economy and well-being, and not supported by robust evidence.
Open Secrets stands with the Palestinian people. We call for an immediate ceasefire by the Israeli occupation forces and an end to Israeli apartheid.
On Thursday, 7 December 2023 the SANDF is hosting a press briefing to address what they refer to as “allegations in the media and public domains”.
In the past week a Open Secrets published “Russian Doll 3: Exposed- SANDF ‘Torture’ Squad” and “Russian Doll 4: The ‘SANDF’ Torture Squad Victim, Pule Nkomo speaks out’. On Sunday, Carte Blanche in partnership with Open Secrets also published a report into allegations of torture in the military. This is a significant story of human…
Open Secrets submitted a memorandum to the NPA motivating for the prosecution of Willem “Ters” Ehlers, a South African currently residing in Pretoria, for the offence of aiding and abetting the Rwandan Genocide.
Open Secrets, PPLAAF and Congo is Not for Sale demand that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) immediately address a criminal complaint involving potential international money laundering offenses by Francis Selemani.
Open Secrets has called on Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber to explain why South African citizenship was granted to Christoph Huber, a Swiss national under investigation for alleged war crimes in the DRC, including resource pillage and mineral smuggling.
Open Secrets files court action against the Hawks and NPA over years-long delays in prosecuting PRASA corruption.
Fossil Free South Africa (FFSA) and Open Secrets express dismay and alarm at the refusal by the South African parliamentarians’ pension fund to divulge whether it invests in fossil fuel companies and in companies trading with human rights-abusing regimes, like Israel.
PRESS RELEASE | Open Secrets Reveals the Powerful Owners Behind South Africa’s Private TelecomsMedia statement News Print Media Online State Capture Profiteers Who Owns South Africa? October 28, 2025 Cape Town, South Africa Open Secrets has launched the latest volume of its incisive new Who Owns South Africa series that exposes the powerful players who…
Open Secrets is presently unable to speak on a matter of significant public importance. We are not permitted to disclose anything related to the matter including the names of the parties that may be involved. What we can say is simple: efforts to muzzle public-interest journalism endanger everyone’s right to know.
The Western Cape High Court has dismissed the urgent interdict application brought by Integrated Convoy Protection (ICP) against Open Secrets. The interdict sought to silence Open Secrets and prevent the publication of an article about ICP’s contract to supply armoured vehicles to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 08 June 2026 Civil Society calls for urgent government action on NACAC anti-corruption proposals The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) met in Johannesburg on 4 June 2026 to deliberate on the proposals of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC), including its recommendation for the establishment of the…
PRESS RELEASE Civil society calls on the Human Rights Commission to investigate the human rights impacts of South Africa’s data centre boom CAPE TOWN, 24 August 2026 — Five civil society organisations — the Housing Assembly, Foxglove, Open Secrets, Research + Action and Planetary AI Collective (with legal analysis by Open Secrets and the Legal…
MEDIA STATEMENT 31 August 2026 Open Secrets heads to the Concourt to promote Corporate Accountability Open Secrets has been admitted as amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) in the case between MTN’s international corporate actors (MTN) and East Asia Consortium (EAC), which will be heard by the Constitutional Court on 31 August and 1 September…
REPORT LAUNCH Who Owns South Africa: Private Media Join Open Secrets on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 at 6pm at the Homecoming Centre for the fifth instalment of the Who Owns South Africa investigative series. Media workers are the writers of history. They document the living record of our changing world at a time when rising…
