Paper insiders disagreed on the reasons for the growth; editor-in-chief Mbathi credited human-interest stories and local news, while joint managing director Brian Porter mentioned editorial content and sports as "vital ingredients".
In the five years after its founding, it performed much better than Independent's English-language South African dailies, growing from a circulation of under 30,000 to more than 95,000, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations figures.