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Since 2016, journalists from the South African Media24 have been staying on the Keizersgracht. During their two-month stay, the journalists gain international experience and write about the Netherlands and Europe for their own media in South Africa. In September and October 2026, Johan Eybers will be staying in the apartment above the Zuid-Afrikahuis!
About Johan Eybers
Johan Eybers is a South African journalist and specialist writer with more than three decades of experience in the media. He began his journalism career in 1989 and has worked for Media24 since 1995, reporting for some of South Africa’s leading Afrikaans news publications, including Beeld, Rapport and Netwerk24.
Over the course of his career, Eybers has worked as a reporter, senior journalist, news editor and specialist writer. His journalism spans a wide range of subjects, with a particular emphasis on investigative and public-interest reporting, financial fraud, consumer affairs, medical regulation, legal processes, public institutions and human-interest stories.
He also specialises in religious and church affairs, with a particular focus on South Africa’s Afrikaans sister churches and developments within the charismatic movement in the Afrikaans-speaking community. His reporting in this field frequently examines church governance, theological and institutional disputes, leadership and the impact of decisions by religious institutions on congregations and their members.
Eybers currently writes for Rapport and Netwerk24, where investigative and accountability journalism forms an important part of his work. Among his longer-running investigations has been a two-year investigation into the activities of South African diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg and the alleged investment scheme associated with him, including its financial and human consequences.
His recent reporting has also focused on alleged financial fraud and Ponzi schemes, medical and pharmaceutical regulation, consumer issues, court proceedings and disputes involving public and private institutions.
Presentation
This lecture will be based on Johan’s investigation into Louis Liebenberg, a South African businessman who built a large following, particularly among conservative white Afrikaners. He invited people to invest in “packages” of diamonds with promises of extraordinarily high returns and attempted to lend the alleged Ponzi scheme legitimacy by acquiring diamond mines in the Northern Cape, a region characterised by arid land and high poverty levels. Johan reported on Liebenberg for more than two years before the police eventually arrested him. The lecture will examine how alleged Ponzi operators create their own social-media platforms to intimidate journalists, victims, and whistleblowers.
We hope to see you there!
