Edwin Naidu is the winner of the 2026 Nat Nakasa Award for bravery in journalism. The founder of ednews.africa, he exposed corruption and maladministration at the University of South Africa
(From left to right:) Edwin Naidu - Nat Nakasa Award winner, Queen Machimane's mother, Prisca Delina Machimana and her aunt Rachel Sedutla - Community Media Award, Tshamano Makhadi - Stephen Wrottesley Award winner (Image source: @
https://www.ednews.africa/ ednews.africa)
Naidu is a veteran South African journalist from Johannesburg who has spent years reporting on higher education, science, and public policy. ednews.africa is a digital newsroom launched to provide sustained, evidence-based coverage of schools, universities, research, and youth development.
Community Media Award 2026 went to Queen Machimane, a journalist with the Rising Sun community newspaper. The Stephen Wrottesley Award winner 2026 was awarded to former acting chair of Sanef, Tshamano Makhadi.
Nat Nakasa Award
The Award is sponsored by Sanlam and held in honour of the late Nat Nakasa, the award celebrates courageous journalism.
The judges recognised Naidu’s reporting on education and his investigations into allegations of corruption and maladministration at the University of South Africa. There was an attempt to gag his reporting in his sole outfit, ednews.Africa, but the courts prevailed in favour of media freedom.
The judges said his journalism had consistently served the public interest and demonstrated integrity, courage, and independence.
Community Media Award
The Community Media Award recognises the critical role community journalism plays in strengthening local democracy, promoting accountability, and ensuring that local voices are heard.
The judges noted that community media continues to operate under immense pressure, including financial constraints, declining advertising revenue, and the demands of digital transformation.
Against this backdrop, Machimane’s work stood out for its commitment to serving communities and amplifying issues that might otherwise go unheard.
Stephen Wrottesley Award
This award recognises exceptional service, dedication, and commitment to Sanef.
The judges highlighted Makhadi’s years of dedicated service to Sanef in several leadership roles, including treasurer-general, chair of the Education and Training Committee, deputy chairperson and, more recently, acting chairperson during a particularly challenging period for the organisation.
State of SA's media
Delivering the keynote address, SABC head of news Deidre Uren reflected on the health of South Africa’s democracy, the state of the media and the future of journalism.
She said courageous journalism had become increasingly important in an era of misinformation, economic pressure, and rapid technological change.
“Accuracy, independence, fairness, verification and public accountability must remain non-negotiable,” Uren said.
Ahead of South Africa’s local government elections, she reminded journalists that their role was not to determine outcomes, but to provide citizens with reliable information that would allow them to make informed choices.
Importance of journalism in society
Bongani Madikiza, chief executive of Sanlam Retail Mass, reflected on the enduring importance of journalism in society.
"Nat Nakasa understood that journalism was not simply about recording events. It was about helping society see itself clearly," he said.
Madikiza reaffirmed Sanlam's longstanding support for journalism development through initiatives such as the Sanlam Summer School for Financial Journalists, which has helped nurture emerging journalists for more than two decades.
