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We have learned with utter shock and sadness of the passing of senior journalist and editor Ms Tshidi Madia today, 27 August 2025.

On behalf of myself and the Office of the Deputy President, I would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the Madia family, to her friends, colleagues, and the broader media fraternity on this tragic and untimely passing of Ms Tshidi Madia.

South Africa has lost a formidable voice,  a voice that could be heard at the time of passing on EWN (Eye Witness News) and a host of radio stations. Tshidi was one of media’s most renowned, respected, and well-loved member. If Samkele Maseko was known jocularly as the Lord of the Media, Tshidi Madia was most certainly the Darling of the Media. She was a consummate professional, known to many of us not just for her incisive reporting, but for her profoundly human touch. She possessed that disarming smile and easy-going banter that made it difficult to refuse her an interview. And when granted, she had a unique skill: she would move you seamlessly from the easy, obvious questions to the most complex and controversial issues in the media environment—which is precisely where she had intended to drive you all along.

But make no mistake; behind that sharp intellect and strategic approach to her craft was a profound and unwavering love for her country, South Africa—a love only equalled by her passion for journalism. She believed fiercely in the role of a free press in a thriving democracy and held those in power to account with fairness and rigour.

This is a huge loss to our nation and to the media fraternity at large. We will miss her incisive journalism, her tenacious pursuit of the truth, and her unparalleled ability to draw out the good stories that define and challenge South Africa.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time. May her soul rest in peace!

Issued by the Presidency