The quiet authority of Khulu Phasiwe, the voice South Africa heard in the dark
Daily Maverick | 09.10.2026 05:03
The once shy financial journalist who later became the definitive public voice of South Africa’s electricity crisis has died. Khulu John Bolekwa Phasiwe passed away on Sunday, 4 October, at the age of 52. Just three months earlier he was appointed head of corporate affairs and communications at the Air Traffic and Navigation Services. Phasiwe died after suffering a seizure, and according to his family he had been battling with them for several years leading up to his passing.
