INQUIRIES LAUNCHED: Top SA investigative journalist goes missing in Djibouti

South African investigative journalist Micah Reddy and his local “fixer” Kooki Mahmoud have gone missing while on assignment in the tiny African state of Djibouti on the Red Sea, causing alarm to their colleagues and families.

Both the South African and British governments have tried to contact the Djiboutian government to find out if the two men have been arrested of if something else has befallen them. US authorities and the Djibouti government have also been contacted for information about the two men who have not been heard from since midday on Saturday.

Johannesburg-based Reddy is Africa coordinator at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a collective of international media houses which has conducted several global exposés of corruption.

His Washington-based ICIJ editor, Fergus Shiel, told Daily Maverick that Reddy was not in Djibouti to report about the country. He had arrived in Djibouti on a flight from Johannesburg on Thursday at about 6.30pm after a stopover in Addis Ababa.

“He was staying at a hotel called Escale International Hotel and he intended to be in Djibouti for no more than three days. He met with a local fixer called Kooki  Mahmoud. He wasn’t there to report on anything to do with Djibouti. He was there in the hope of learning about something that was a long-term investigation. I can’t go into that because it could put him at further risk.”

Shiel said that at 1pm local time on Saturday Reddy was to meet Kooki. “And he texted to say that everything was fine and Kooki was arriving, and we haven’t heard from him since.”

Four hours later Reddy’s phone was still showing that he was receiving messages as Shiel was getting two ticks on them. “But shortly after that it went to one tick and at that point I became worried about his safety. And from then until 3am last night we have been doing everything in our power to alert authorities in the UK, South Africa the US and Djibouti about him.

“The South Africans were wonderful. The South African government responded immediately to say that they would help. The UK government immediately launched a missing person’s report. That was as early as midday yesterday. They launched that with the Djibouti authorities.”

He added that former Daily Maverick editor-in-chief Branko Brkic had put him in touch with Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

“It’s very, very unusual for somebody to disappear from the lobby of an international hotel,” Shiel said. “We’re calling upon the Djibouti authorities to reveal where Micah is. We suspect he’s in custody and we want him returned. There is no reason for Djibouti authorities to pay attention to Micah. He was not there to report on Djibouti affairs.”

Reddy is known for his for investigate work on governance, corruption and regional affairs.

Angela Quintal, Africa director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said; “CPJ is deeply concerned by reports that South African journalist Micah Reddy and his local fixer, Kooki Mahmoud, are missing in Djibouti and urges authorities to immediately clarify their whereabouts and ensure their safety.

“Authorities must immediately clarify their whereabouts, confirm their wellbeing and ensure their safety. Journalists must be able to work without fear of disappearance or obstruction.”

La Voix De Djibouti (LVD), a Djiboutian news journal based in Europe because of the repressive media climate in Djibouti, said that according to its information the Escale International Hotel where Reddy was staying is owned by members of the family of Djiboutian President Ismaël Omar Guelleh “and a key figure in the Djiboutian secret service”.

AmaBhungane, the South Afr4ican investigative news agency where Reddy used to work, said it was deeply concerned by reports that Reddy and Mahmoud were missing in Djibouti.

“Micah is a former amaBhungane journalist and a valued member of the investigative journalism community in South Africa and across the continent. We join the Committee to Protect Journalists in calling on the Djiboutian authorities to urgently clarify Micah and Kooki’s whereabouts and ensure their safety. We call for their immediate safe return,” it said.

Djibouti is considered a repressive country, both for media and more broadly. Freedom House, in its 2026 Freedom in the World report, rated it “Not Free”, giving it a score of only 24 out of 100 for political rights and civil liberties.

It said: “Djibouti is a republic ruled by a powerful president, Ismaël Omar Guelleh, who has been in office since 1999 and is not subject to term limits. While Djibouti technically has a multiparty political system, the ruling Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) uses authoritarian means to maintain its dominant position. The opposition’s ability to operate is severely constrained, and journalists and activists who air criticism of Guelleh or the UMP are regularly harassed or arrested.”

The international media freedom advocacy group Reporters without Borders, in its 2023 index of media freedom, ranked Djibouti 167th out of 180 countries.

“The government led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, who was re-elected for a fifth term in 2021, deploys a draconian arsenal that includes judicial harassment, illegal searches, attacks and arrests, causing real terror to reign over the media,” it said.

It added: “No independent media outlet is based in the country. Like La Voix de Djibouti (LVD), a free weekly published in French, radio LVD operates in exile from Paris, but its airwaves are routinely jammed and its website blocked by the authorities.”

But it said no journalist had been killed in Djibouti since 1 January 2026 and no journalists were detained at the time of publication of its report.

The unusual feature of Djibouti is that because of its strategic location at the narrow entrance to the Red Sea, it hosts major military bases of the US, France, China, Italy and Japan and smaller military bases of Germany, Spain and Saudi Arabia. This apparently helps to immunise the government from criticism for its repressive policies. DM