South African Journalist Micah Reddy Heads Home After 72 Hours in Custody in Djibouti
- There has been positive news regarding South African journalist, Micah Reddy, who was in Djibouti
- Reddy's family lost all contact with him from 19 September before reaching him through contacts in Djibouti
- His brother, Niall, conducted an interview with SABC News where he provided more details about Micah's status
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
GAUTENG — South African investigative journalist Micah Reddy is on his way home after being released from detention in Djibouti.
Reddy's brother, Niall Reddy, confirmed the news in a live interview with SABC News, describing the family's relief as difficult to put into words.
Concerns were raised about the status of Reddy and his local fixer, Kooki Mahmoud, after neither man could be reached shortly after meeting in Djibouti.
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How Reddy was located and released
Niall told SABC News that the family had been without any contact with Micah since Saturday, 19 September 2026, when the journalist and Mahmoud became unreachable.
Reddy, the ICIJ Africa coordinator, had arrived in Djibouti on Thursday, 17 September, and met with Mahmoud, but the pair were detained shortly after by authorities who cited the absence of media accreditation. The trip was not related to reporting on Djibouti.
The family worked through legal and diplomatic channels, eventually securing assistance from contacts in Djibouti, whose identities they chose not to disclose.
On the morning of 22 September 2026, those contacts were able to visit Reddy in custody. Shortly afterwards, the country's public prosecutor issued an expulsion order, and Reddy was transported directly to the airport.
Micah's phone and laptop had been confiscated by officials, but he was able to borrow a fellow passenger's device to make a brief call.
"He relayed to us that he's well, he's unharmed, immensely relieved to have been let out," Niall said.
He added that his brother is "a very experienced journalist" and "a very unflappable person" who would recover from the ordeal and return to his work. Reddy was expected back in South Africa on the evening of the 22nd.
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Source: Briefly News
