The Shadow Fleet, an investigation by Malawian journalist and 2025 AIJC Masterclass fellow Jack McBrams, has been recognised by the Global Investigative Journalism Network as one of the top investigative stories from Africa in 2025.
McBrams says the investigation grew out of his participation in last year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference Masterclass, where he was able to put the mentorship he received from globally recognised journalists and trainers into practice in progressing his exposé.
“This recognition belongs as much to this community as it does to me. The reporting frameworks, data skills, peer critique, and relentless emphasis on depth and evidence that defined the masterclass directly shaped this investigation,” he says.
The investigation exposed grave aviation governance failures in Malawi, revealed oversight shortcomings that threaten international aviation safety, and showed that opaque operators using Malawi’s tail numbers were opening doors to illicit activities. Using open source methods and other techniques, McBrams made the following findings:
- Four ex-Thai Airways Airbus A340-600s, now bearing Malawi registration, are linked to a suspected sanctions-evasion network tied to Iran’s Mahan Air.
- A Malawian-registered de Havilland Buffalo crashed in South Sudan in 2024, killing civilians — the aircraft was never inspected in Malawi.
- Malawi’s weak oversight — including long periods without a functioning Civil Aviation Authority Board — has created loopholes that foreign companies exploit.
- In Germany, skydiving aircraft carry Malawian registration to bypass stricter EU regulations. (Representatives of the German aviation firm defended their operations in Malawi and denied that the planes were part of a shadow network.)
Adds McBrams: “From refining the central hypothesis to stress-testing sources and methodology, the training I received at the 2025 AIJC Masterclass fundamentally strengthened the work. This is a powerful reminder that rigorous training, collaboration, and mentorship translate into real-world impact.”
The Wits Centre for Journalism congratulates McBrams on his thoroughly well-deserved recognition.
See GIJN’s best investigative stories from around the world in 2025 here.