Daily Maverick People of the Year 2025- Cast your vote

Here is our shortlist of individuals and organisations whose actions, for better or worse, left a clear and undeniable mark.

Now here is your chance to decide who truly deserves the honour of being among the year’s best… and, perhaps more tellingly, the worst. As this is a co-creation exercise our editors will take into account your views and votes, but retain the final say.

Category: Person of the Year

The individual who made the broadest or most significant positive impact.

Francesca Albanese

As the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese has been tireless in campaigning for Gaza and the other occupied territories. Her four reports have mapped the death of human rights and the rise of a genocide — bringing it to the epicentre of the world’s attention. A radical campaigner, Albanese is both dogged and tireless in her work. Her latest reports have considered how complicity with genocide is structured and created through business networks, and she has tracked which companies have made fortunes by supplying arms to Israel in its war on Gaza.

Jane Goodall

Nominated for both Person of the Year and Our Burning Planet Champion of the Year — obviously. Jane Goodall’s life has been a masterclass in the power of kindness, proof that you don’t need political office to change the world. Her pioneering primate research, unwavering activism and ability to mobilise global communities around conservation leave a legacy that continues to inspire. A worthy contender for both categories.

Rassie Erasmus

Rassie Erasmus is no stranger to success as Springbok coach, but in 2025 he pushed the boundaries further and innovated more astutely as he tried to stay ahead of the curve. Erasmus turned André Esterhuizen into a hybrid player and was forced to think on his feet when red cards affected key matches — making as many as four first-half substitutions to combat the setbacks. It was truly a year of leadership and coaching excellence as the Boks dominated the world.

Ronald Lamola and Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Ronald Lamola deserve nomination for their South African G20 Presidency, which historically centred the needs of the Global South, Africa and developing economies. Their leadership prioritised debt sustainability, a just energy transition, and global inequality, leading to the first G20 report on the “inequality emergency”.

Ramaphosa, with diplomatic composure in the Oval Office, firmly debunked US President Donald Trump’s “white genocide” claims, clarifying that high crime levels affect all South Africans, with the majority of victims being black.

Lamola further demonstrated courage by insisting the G20 could proceed and sent a clear message that the world would move on, even in the face of the US’ absence. Their combined efforts championed multilateralism and confronted disinformation with constitutional clarity, proving South Africa’s relevance on the global stage

Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign was a masterclass in values, clearly articulating that a city should work for its people rather than those who profit from it. He championed social justice as the operating system, building an inclusive platform that resonated with diverse and often overlooked New Yorkers. Mamdani refused to accept the fatalism of inequality, pairing his moral clarity with pragmatic, concrete plans like specific housing targets and fare-free buses. In a cynical political year, Mamdani offered a rare hope with a backbone, making him a powerful contender for Daily Maverick’s Person of the Year.

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Category: Movement of the Year

The collective force that captured the world’s attention or drove meaningful change.

South African Global Sumud Flotilla activists

Their bold decision to confront the Gaza blockade head-on while carrying a message that the genocide must end was a powerful act of global solidarity and moral courage. Despite knowing previous flotillas were intercepted or attacked, they still chose to go. Their courage and unity remind the world what true solidarity looks like.

The Women for Change Movement

Women for Change (WfC) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 2016 by Sabrina Walter, dedicated to combating gender-based violence (GBV). WfC uses its 500,000+ follower social media platform to highlight femicide and abuse and pressure policymakers. Its recent G20 Women’s Shutdown protest and petition for GBV to be classified a national disaster gained more than 1.1 million signatures.

The Inflatable Frog Costume Movement

When naked abuse of presidential power sends military forces into America’s blue states, many Americans — and the rest of us — wondered how one ever begins to fight back? Molotov cocktails, masks and baseball bats? Maybe placards and peace signs? The people of Portland keep things weird — it's their city motto — and in response did just that. Enter the inflatable frog costume. Meeting a ridiculous abuse of power with equally ridiculous costumes and protest action was the perfect way to disarm a US administration accustomed to escalation. Praise frog. Salute Portland.

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Category: Villain of the Year

The individual or group whose actions caused the most significant harm or public damage.

AfriSol (AfriForum and Solidarity)

South Africans would like to thank AfriSol (AfriForum and Solidarity) for its incredible work to convince President Donald Trump to increase US tariffs on our exports, take in 50-odd Afrikaner refugees despite his nationwide campaign to expel immigrants (legal or not) from US shores, and to ultimately boycott the first G20 held on African soil due to the white genocide taking place right under our noses without our knowledge. We all sleep safer at night knowing we have ambassadors of your calibre pleading our case.

Donald Trump

Where do we begin? Tariffs, Gaza, Amerikaners, Doge, ICE raids. In a year he has shifted a fine democracy toward autocracy. He has targeted South Africa no less than 20 times suggesting a white genocide not borne out by the numbers.

IDF soldiers

“Most moral army in the world”? Where to even begin. The killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, repeated incidents of civilian deaths, allegations of torture and degrading treatment of Palestian detainees, and investigations into possible war crimes all paint a grim picture. Add to this the viral footage of abusive behaviour by soldiers and testimonies from former IDF members themselves, and the ongoing killing and dehumanisation of Palestinians, and it points to a deep and disturbing villainy.

Tebogo Malaka and Collen Mashawana

The allegedly corrupt scheme that ties ex Independent Development Trust (IDT) CEO Tebogo Malaka to businessman Collen Mashawana is the stuff of jaw-dropping villainy.

Malaka needs little introduction. She has the dubious honour of starring in Daily Maverick’s explosive “sting” video, which showed her and sidekick-cum-spokesperson Phasha Makgolane offering a Dior shopping bag stuffed with R60,000 in cash to our investigative journalist.

The actual story Malaka had hoped to bury is even worse than the attempted bribe.

Our investigations showed that Mashawana, a self-professed “philanthropreneur”, channelled funds to Malaka’s new mansion inside an upmarket estate. Mashawana’s charitable foundation, meanwhile, had clinched a R60-million IDT contract to manage a works programme for nearly 2,000 unemployed South Africans across five provinces. The foundation not only short-changed or failed to pay many of these workers, but also allegedly committed large-scale signature fraud in order to claim the IDT funds.

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Category: Businessperson of the Year

The leader whose influence and innovation extended beyond profit.

Jannie Mouton

Curro’s shift from for-profit to public benefit could be the model the country didn’t know it needed, hitting the sweet spot where private sector nous meets public sector need, and everyone wins.

Alan Knott-Craig

Alan Knott-Craig Jnr has founded, funded, and/or managed more than 20 companies, including Mxit, Cellfind, and Hero Telecoms. His truly inspirational creation, Fibretime, delivered essential Wi-Fi access to townships like Motherwell, becoming a vital lifeline. For just R5 a day, this initiative enabled thousands of people to apply for jobs and schooling, stay connected with their families, and report crime. This game changer, prioritising people over profit, makes Knott-Craig a deeply deserving candidate for Businessman of the Year.

Sim Tshabalala

Sim Tshabalala deserves your vote because he has shown that a big bank can still deliver for a fragile economy. Under his leadership, Africa’s largest lender by assets has produced resilient profits — with headline earnings rising to about R44.5-billion in 2024, and returns on equity at about 19% — while absorbing load shedding, weak growth and high rates without blowing up households or the state balance sheet. He has pushed a clear strategy — “Africa is our home, we drive her growth” — building a pan-African franchise, backing infrastructure, trade and SMEs, and investing heavily in digital banking that actually works for ordinary clients. Standard Bank was named Africa’s Best Bank 2025 by Euromoney, recognising both financial performance and execution. At a time when trust in big institutions is thin, Tshabalala has kept Standard Bank broadly scandal free, transparent with investors and serious about succession — the kind of stewardship SA needs.

Leila Fourie

Leila Fourie deserves recognition as Business Person of the Year because she has quietly done the hard, unglamorous work of making South Africa’s capital markets more modern, transparent and sustainable. Since 2019 she has steered the JSE through Covid-19, greylisting fears and delisting pressure, improving earnings quality and broadening the exchange’s strategic footprint rather than simply managing decline. She put ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) and climate risk firmly on the agenda, aligning JSE disclosure guidance with new IFRS sustainability standards and global frameworks, and championing better reporting on climate and biodiversity. In 2024 the JSE joined the UN Global Compact, and Fourie was appointed to its board, giving South Africa a voice in the world’s biggest corporate sustainability initiative. As she prepares to step down in 2026, this is the moment to acknowledge a reformer who has kept Africa’s biggest bourse globally credible while fighting to make it a force for inclusive growth.

Denise van Huyssteen

Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, is a visionary leader whose influence on business, governance, and the development of social capital has set a new benchmark for responsible business leadership in South Africa. Her pioneering “cluster system” has reshaped the way businesses engage with the communities in which they operate, built on the principle that sustainable economic growth is inseparable from community wellbeing.

Under her leadership, cluster-based projects such as Adopt-a-Leak — which tackles the metro’s chronic water infrastructure failures — and Adopt-a-Substation, which combats vandalism through private-sector stewardship, have become exemplary models of solutions-driven collaboration. These initiatives reflect her ability to think beyond traditional boundaries and galvanise meaningful partnerships between business, civil society and the government — while keeping the Nelson Mandela Bay metro accountable.

As a strategic leader, her work has contributed to notable improvements in energy resilience, safety and municipal infrastructure in Nelson Mandela Bay. When punitive global tariffs threatened the region’s predominantly manufacturing-based economy — especially the automotive sector — Van Huyssteen responded with decisive, forward-looking leadership. She spearheaded a comprehensive programme to diversify and reinvent the bay’s economic landscape and championed innovative training initiatives to grow a skilled local workforce that is attractive to future investors.

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Category: Sportsperson of the Year

The athlete whose performance or spirit defined the year.

Nolusindiso Booi

It’s common to say one must leave an environment in a better place than one found it. In the case of former Springbok Women captain Nolusindiso Booi, it is unequivocally true that her leadership has played a role in transforming South African women’s rugby. With a record 55 Bok Women caps, she led the team to a historic Rugby World Cup quarterfinal appearance, in her fourth overall appearance at the global showpiece.

Ox Nché

Springbok loosehead Ox Nché broke new ground when he became the first prop to be nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award. It was deserved, too. The Bok scrum was a potent weapon with Nché in the vanguard, crushing opponents and reducing their set piece to rubble. But he was more than a scrumming colossus, he was also a ball carrying threat and defensive wall in the tight exchanges.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s talent is undeniable, but in 2025 he transcended mere promise by delivering huge performances in big games. He scored 37 points against Argentina in Durban — a Test record for the Boks — which drew comparisons with All Black great Dan Carter. He also played brilliantly every time he took to the field. In 2025, SFM cemented his status as the Boks' go-to flyhalf.

Laura Wolvaardt

Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt was in outstanding form for the national side throughout the recently concluded Women’s Cricket World Cup. Wolvaardt scored a tournament record 571 runs — the most ever at a Women’s Cricket World Cup — which included a century (169) in the semi-final and another in the final (101).

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Category: Sports Team of the Year

The collective whose performance or spirit towered above the rest. We know that the Springboks are the GOAT (Greatest of All Teams), so this year we thought we would spice it up and leave out the GOATs to shine a light on other teams.

Springbok Women

The implementation of a professional women’s rugby league in South Africa has been in the works for some time. However, the Springbok Women breaking the knockout-round barrier at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup has pressured SA Rugby to accelerate the process. It was not “just a quarterfinal” appearance, it was an agenda-setting milestone.

Proteas Men

Under the tutelage of Shukri Conrad and Temba Bavuma, the Proteas men clinched their first-ever major International Cricket Council trophy when they claimed the World Test Championship mace in June this year. They won the final at Lord’s in England after heading into the match as underdogs, claiming a five-wicket win over reigning champions Australia.

Women’s Proteas Cricket Team

The Proteas Women became the first senior South African cricket team to ever make a Cricket World Cup final, earlier this month in India. They suffered a 52-run defeat in the final to hosts India after losing only two out of their seven group stage matches, and defeating England in the semi-final.

SA relay teams

“These relay medals show the whole world that South Africa is strong, and they must not take us lightly.” So said South African sprinting starlet Bayanda Walaza after his country picked up gold medals in the 4x100m and 4x400m events at the World Relays in May 2025. It’s just a pity they could not carry that golden form in the World Athletics Championships.

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Category: Community Champion of the Year

The local hero uplifting and defending ordinary South Africans against the odds.

Lucinda Evans

Lucinda Evans, feminist activist and founder of the Cape Town non-profit organisation Philisa Abafazi Bethu, is in the business of defending and empowering survivors of abuse. Her dream is a world in which children, women, men and members of the LGBTQIA+ community can live in peace and safety.

Yumna Alexander

Yumna Alexander is an inspiration, transforming her personal struggles into a powerful mission. After earning her own qualification, she recognised the vital importance of matric. Today, Alexander runs 10 night schools across Cape Town’s coloured communities, including Manenberg and Mitchells Plain, serving more than 600 learners, many of them older adults seeking a second chance. She has also employed more than 20 teachers, many of whom are alumni of her programme. Alexander is a truly great woman who deserves recognition for profoundly changing lives through education.

Bea Swanepoel

As the CEO of Jozi my Jozi, Swanepoel has been tireless as Johannesburg’s de facto mayor. The movement, funded by business but propelled by civil society, is a lateral-minded urban regeneration plan for Joburg. At its centre is the idea that Johannesburg’s people are its gold — a neat retelling of the idea of eGoli (city of gold). She and her team have refurbished the Nelson Mandela Bridge and cleaned the entry and exit points of the city. The inner city is being relit and refurbished end to end in working partnerships with the City. Watch the space.

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Category: Artist of the Year

The creator whose cultural or social influence towered above others.

Annie Lennox

The Scottish singer-songwriter and political activist has consistently used her platform to speak out against the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza, and actively supported humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip. In September 2025, she released a new, reimagined version of her 1992 single Why?, titled Why — For Gaza, with different lyrics to raise funds for Palestinians in the region.

Ms Rachel

Rachel Accurso, widely known as Ms Rachel, used her global platform with courage this year, centering the voices of children in Gaza and refusing to look away even under fierce backlash. At the 2025 Glamour Women of the Year Awards, she wore a gown embroidered with their own drawings, using their art to highlight their stories and raise awareness at a time when the world too often looks away. What began six years ago as a simple YouTube channel to help her son with delayed speech has become one of the world’s most beloved children’s platforms, with 10 billion views, nine books and a Netflix series. Her creativity, empathy and moral clarity make her a standout contender.

Tyla

Yes, Tyla won DM’s Artist of the Year category in 2024 — but should that count against her? For international impact, there was simply no South African artist who could compete this year. From her own headline tour of Asia, to her single Chanel debuting at #1 on both the US and the UK’s Official Afrobeats Charts, to being nominated for another Grammy… What the heck?

Billie Eilish

At the Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards in late October, Billie Eilish said that she was donating $11.5-million from her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour to charities focused “on climate justice, food insecurity and carbon pollution reduction”. That wasn’t all: she also delivered a sharp remark to the ultra-wealthy: why hoard billions when you could just give it away when so many people really need help? “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties,” she said (Mark Zuckerberg was in the room).

A few weeks later, on 13 November, she circled back with a tweet (oops, an “X”) for Elon Musk, suggesting that if he reaches his next stratospheric financial milestone, he might consider deploying some of that wealth more wisely and kindly. (Needless to say, the billionaire fired back) Meanwhile, “WILDFLOWER” picked up Grammy nominations for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year for 2026.

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Category: OBP Champion of the Year

The green warriors fighting for the survival of Our Beautiful Planet.

Cormac Cullinan

Cormac Cullinan has pioneered South African environmental law through visionary leadership, tireless advocacy and groundbreaking work on Earth jurisprudence. His dedication to protecting ecosystems, elevating community rights and reshaping the Rights of Nature for a sustainable planetary future makes him an exceptional choice for Environmental Person of the Year. His recent Shackleton Award further recognises his courage and pioneering contributions to environmental justice.

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa earns another nod this year for driving Eskom’s renewable-energy push with urgency and clarity. His acceleration of clean-energy projects, battery storage and new Independent Power Producer capacity has helped shift South Africa away from crisis mode and toward a more sustainable, future-proof grid. A steady, pragmatic force in a sector long starved of one.

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall has inspired global environmental action through her groundbreaking primate research, her lifelong advocacy for wildlife protection and her ability to mobilise communities toward conservation. Her compassionate leadership, scientific insight and enduring commitment to protecting the natural world make her an exceptional choice for Environmental Person of the Year.

Zethu Hlatshwayo and the Kuthala Environmental Care Group

While the community of Nomzamo is situated in the heart of SA’s coal-belt in Mpumalanga, the area has long been plagued by energy poverty. Despite living in the shadows of coal-fired power plants, many residents do not have access to electricity. Zethu Hlatswayo, together with members of the Kuthala Environmental Care Group, have worked to change that by spearheading a campaign that saw solar bricks installed in 412 households in the settlement built atop an abandoned mine. The solar bricks are used for lights, charging cellphones, and even powering the community refrigerator. Nomzamo Agri-village could serve as a model on how the just energy transition can be driven from the ground up, in addition to being an example of how to make renewable energy accessible to SA’s poorest and most underserved communities.

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Category: OBP Dirtbag of the Year

The individuals or entities who put profits and pollution before people.

John Steenhuisen

In one of the year’s most baffling political moves, DA leader John Steenhuisen requested the dismissal of Dr Dion George — a highly effective environment minister with a strong record on carbon markets, anti-poaching and Antarctic diplomacy. His replacement, Willie Aucamp, reportedly has deep ties to the hunting lobby. The move signalled political favour-trading over environmental protection, prompting a backlash from conservation groups.

Russia

According to documentation seen by Daily Maverick, Russian authorities jailed Ukrainian polar scientist Dr Leonid Pshenichnov in Crimea for promoting Antarctic marine protected areas — despite Russia’s membership in the body tasked with supporting them. The message was chilling: scientific integrity is punishable if it threatens fossil-fuel interests.

The Global Plastics Industry (and Big Petro States)

Plastic treaty negotiations, aimed at curbing toxic production and chemical pollution, collapsed in Geneva as major oil and gas producers — including the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia — blocked progress. Their obstruction kept the world locked into a waste and toxicity crisis that grows deadlier by the year.

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Category: Moegoe of the Year

The figure whose sheer foolishness or blundering defined the year.

Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe

Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe is nominated in this category for a series of bizarre (and possibly unlawful) hiring and firing decisions within her ministry. The pinnacle: appointing an unqualified 22 year old, the niece of her favoured special advisor, as Chief of Staff. Hey, at least she’s serious about empowering the youth.

Ernst Roets

Ernst Roets earned his shortlisting in this category primarily for the interview he gave to right-wing US conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson in February this year, in which he made the usual claims of Afrikaner persecution but added an additional fever-dream: that South African universities teach students that killing a white person is not a crime. We must have missed that module.

Heinz Winkler

From pop star to pastor to podcaster, Heinz Winckler, South Africa’s original “Idols” champion turned evangelical entrepreneur, is nominated for launching ONE80. His homage to Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA is aimed at stopping “destructive ideologies”, and promoting a “healthy way of thinking”. Based on his public sermons, this would entail being critical of the “liberal left woke agenda”, fearful of “radicalised Muslims”, passionately pro-Israel and anti-Halloween. When pulpit meets politics, what can go wrong?

Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dabula

Zandile Dabula, taking the reins from Nhlanhla Lux of Operation Dudula, has successfully reinvigorated xenophobia this year, achieving the notable public health feat of forcing clinic closures and making the sick too terrified to seek care. Her operations have now bravely escalated to harassing learners and public schools, cementing her as a committed menace to children’s education. Her grand finale? Threatening to disrupt the G20 because South Africa is supposedly “not prioritising citizens”. Dabula is our reigning, highly disruptive nuisance.

Panyaza Lesufi

If wasting taxpayer money on a doomed crime unit was an art, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi would be its Picasso. Lesufi launched the controversial Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs), commonly known as “AmaPanyaza”, with great fanfare in early 2023. However, AmaPanyaza collapsed like a badly scripted soap opera rather quickly: illegal, undertrained, rife with bullying and abuse, and overstepping their policing mandate at every turn. The final nail in the coffin for AmaPanyaza came when Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka officially ruled their establishment unlawful and irregular in October. Lesufi’s costly experiment (an estimated R1.5-billion) flopped harder than a GPS with no signal, leaving him scrambling to justify squandering public funds on a clearly doomed venture. Now, after three years and countless complaints, the plan is to “retrain” these poor wardens as traffic cops — because nothing cures failure like a new uniform and a fresh delusion of competence.

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The deadline for voting is: Sunday 30 November 2025. The final winners will be revealed in DM168 newspaper.