South Africans mourn passing of journalist Nabeelah Shaikh
Shaikh, a devoted wife and mother of one child, was pregnant at the time of her passing.
South Africans are mourning the passing of award-winning investigative journalist Nabeelah Shaikh, who died during childbirth on Saturday, 14 November 2026, leaving behind her husband Waseem Ally and their young daughter Maahira. Shaikh, a reporter at eNCA, was a devoted mother and wife, and her loss has deeply affected her family, friends, and colleagues.
Born and raised in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal, Shaikh had a distinguished journalism career that began at the Sunday Tribune in 2013 before she joined eNCA. She gained recognition for her work on high-profile stories, including her 2015 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award-winning report on South Africans recruited by the Islamic State group and her 2017 investigation into alleged corruption at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine.
Her death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from colleagues and former newsroom associates, who remember her as a courageous journalist, dedicated storyteller, and compassionate colleague.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Citizen's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
