Books
Together with Matthew Blackman I write ‘irreverent histories’ of South Africa which are published by Penguin. Rogues’ Gallery lifts the lid on 350 years of fiendish corruption in South Africa. We are currently working on a second book about the elections that have shaped our benighted nation.
In a previous life I used to write novels and short stories too. You can see a few excerpts below.

Rogues’ Gallery
An Irreverent History of Corruption in South Africa, from the VOC to the ANC
If you reckon corruption in South Africa began with Zuma or even with apartheid, it’s time to catch a wake-up call.
Rogues’ Gallery tells the story of some of the biggest skelms to grace our (un)fair shores, showing that dodgy dealings have been a national pastime for as long as South African history has been written down.
The action starts with the machinations of three rotten colonial governors. Next up we have Cecil John Rhodes poisoning the land with theft, fraud and war, and Oom Paul Kruger’s corrupt and compromised Volksraads. Readers are then treated to apartheid’s finest feats in corruption: from the Broederbond’s perfect ten in state capture to the Department of Information’s peddling of fake news. And let’s not forget the hotbed of corruption that was the ‘independent’ homelands.
Add to this a few murders, plenty of nepotism and a state president who started out as a Nazi spy, and the gallery of rogues is complete. Irreverent, entertaining and impeccably researched, Rogues’ Gallery busts the myth that the Zuptas were the first to capture the South African state, showing that corruption has always been around – and that the tricks politicians play haven’t changed a jot.
More Rogues
Dig deeper with this collection of book reviews and newspaper articles connected to Rogues’ Gallery. 350 years of rampant government corruption in South Africa mean there's no shortage of fodder.
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Why is Canada’s longest street named after a monument to...
The Globe and Mail
While writing Rogues' Gallery I discovered that Toronto's main drag is named after the Cape Colony's most corrupt governor. -
Déjà vu at the Zondo show
Sunday Times
Zondo is by no means alone. South Africa has a long and disappointing history of Commissions of Inquiry into State Capture. -
The corruption battle shaping South Africa’s future
OZY.com
History repeats itself as the ANC battles to save itself from corruption. -
SA’s long, toxic relationship with alcohol bans
Financial Mail
Our research for Rogues' Gallery exposed a long and sordid history of booze bans in South Africa. -
The gutsy Scottish woman who climbed an African mountain
OZY.com
Meet the woman responsible for getting the Cape's most incompetent Governor fired. -
The Governor with a beautiful house…But ugly tactics
OZY.com
Way back in 1706, Willem Adriaan van der Stel was the first South African to engage in 'state capture'. -
And was there good sport for her husband?
Getaway, August 2019
Lady Anne Barnard played a pivotal role in exposing Sir George Yonge's corruption. Here I retrace her travels into the interior.
Creative writing
I did an MA in Creative Writing, and fiction is my first love. A short story of mine appeared in an anthology selected by JM Coetzee. And my first novel, Holiday Town, was shortlisted for the EU Literary Award.
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EU Literary Award Winners
The African Book Publishing Record, 2007
Announcement of the winners of this award. -
You should have called me Narcissus
African Compass, 2005
My award-winning short story. -
Holiday Town
The first chapter of my first novel. -
Saint Alf
A short story highlighting the ecological exploitation in Betty's Bay.