The Daily Maverick published its annual news quiz on December 23, 2025, featuring 30 questions on key events of the year. Covering politics, sports, and international affairs, it tests readers' knowledge of South Africa's major headlines. Answers are provided at the end for self-checking.
The Daily Maverick's 2025 quizzical news quiz invites readers to reflect on a year filled with significant developments in South Africa and beyond. Launched on December 23, the quiz spans various topics, starting with early-year incidents like the arrival of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula at a Robben Island event via a luxury yacht donated by a businessman, and the loss of 14 South African National Defence Force members on peacekeeping duties in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January.
Political questions highlight shifts such as the delayed national budget passage in June after VAT hike proposals were dropped, the death of former deputy president David Mabuza in July—nicknamed 'The Cat' alongside criminal figure Vusimuzi Matlala—and the sacking of DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield, which DA leader John Steenhuisen called 'the greatest political mistake in modern SA history.' The quiz also covers cabinet size at 75 members including deputies, and Helen Zille's confirmation to run for Johannesburg mayor with the phrase, 'Damn it, I’m gonna do it.'
Sports entries include the absence of golf legend Gary Player at a White House meeting with Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus's blunt assessment of a loss to the Wallabies as 'dogshit,' and the cancellation of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon due to high winds. Internationally, it notes Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry becoming International Olympic Committee president and South Africa's exit from the FATF greylist in October.
Other trivia touches on cultural losses like Tito Mboweni's passing, a fan of pilchard stews, and Tyla as the most downloaded South African singer on Spotify. The quiz, categorized under South African articles with keywords like Donald Trump and Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, encourages engagement through brainteasers on figures like the Alex Mafia and political groupings such as UFC.
