Kate Wilkinson

Deputy chief editor

Kate Wilkinson joined Africa Check as a researcher in July 2013. Her main research areas include education, immigration, crime and viral social media hoaxes. In 2018, she discovered an error in the South African police service’s annual crime statistics, which led to an official revision. She leads the organisation’s media work, with regular appearance on local and international television and radio. Her work also involves training African journalists on verification and research techniques. In 2017, she developed a programme which taught school children how to decipher fact from fiction on social media. The Mail and Guardian named her one of its Top 200 Young South Africans in 2013.

Latest fact-checks

crime

Femicide

murder

Five facts: Femicide in South Africa

The murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana has led to protest against femicide in South Africa. We answer five questions about the murder of women.

Tito Mboweni being sworn in as minister of finance in October 2018 while President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on. Photo: GCIS

civil servant spend

government

Do South Africa’s civil servants get R8 out of every R10 the government spends?

Finance minister Tito Mboweni said South Africa should make sure it does not “have a situation where R8 out of every R10 goes to salaries and wages in the public sector”.TimesLive and the Citizen reported that this was currently the case.State employee compensation made up 35.2% (R3.52 per R10) ...

suicide rate

Teen suicide

Teen suicide in South Africa: getting the facts right helps combat the problem

The Psychiatry Management Group said almost one in 10 teen deaths in South Africa was a result of suicide, and up to 20% of high school pupils had tried to take their own lives.Data from a 2012 study showed one in 20 deaths of people aged 10 to 19 were due to suicide.A 2011 survey estimated that 17....

electricity

Eskom

Eskom and the viral infographic: do the numbers add up?

CORRECTION: The fact-check of the "average salary" claim was updated to use the total salary bill before certain costs were deducted. This did not change the verdict.Worker protests over pay at South Africa’s power utility have led to lights being turned off across the country. The utility, Eskom,...

Latest facts

Sex & gender

What proportion of trafficked persons in Nigeria are women?

Source

US Department of State: 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report - Nigeria

Short answer

What proportion of trafficked persons in Nigeria are women?

In 2023, the Nigerian government identified 1,634 victims of trafficking, including 841 victims of sex trafficking, 543 victims of labour trafficking and 250 victims of unspecified forms of trafficking. Of the 841 sex trafficking victims, 763 were women. Of the 543 victims of labour trafficking, 290...

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Health

How many cases of malaria are recorded in Zimbabwe each year?

Source

WHO: Country Disease Outlook ᠆ Zimbabwe

Short answer

How many cases of malaria are recorded in Zimbabwe each year?

The annual number of reported malaria cases in 2021 was 342,543 (at an incidence rate of 21.4 cases per 1000 people), resulting in 876 deaths. Zimbabwe’s malaria incidence rate has fluctuated, but has generally declined since 2015. ...

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Health

How many malaria deaths are recorded in Zimbabwe in a year?

Source

WHO: Country Disease Outlook ᠆ Zimbabwe

Short answer

How many malaria deaths are recorded in Zimbabwe in a year?

The annual number of reported malaria deaths in 2021 was in 876. ...

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Health

How many new HIV infections occur in Zimbabwe each year?

Source

UNDP Zimbabwe: Overview of The HIV Epidemic in Zimbabwe

Short answer

How many new HIV infections occur in Zimbabwe each year?

In Zimbabwe, the number of people becoming infected with HIV each year has fallen by more than half over the past decade. In 2022, about 0.17% of adults in Zimbabwe were infected with HIV, and the number of new cases fell in all age groups. Among adults, the number of new HIV cases fell by 7%, and a...

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Kate Wilkinson

Latest fact-checks

Latest facts

What proportion of trafficked persons in Nigeria are women?

How many cases of malaria are recorded in Zimbabwe each year?

How many malaria deaths are recorded in Zimbabwe in a year?

How many new HIV infections occur in Zimbabwe each year?

Meet our team

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