‘The life of a whistle-blower is a lonely one.” These were the words of a colleague of the late Babita Deokaran at a memorial service held on 23 August 2022, the first anniversary of her death.
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Weeks after flagging fraudulent transactions worth hundreds of millions of rands, Deokaran, an employee of the Gauteng Health Department, paid the ultimate price. She died in a hail of bullets outside her home after dropping off her child at school.
Instead of being commended for their integrity and courage, whistle-blowers are often hounded out of their jobs by their superiors.
They face trumped-up disciplinary charges and are slapped with frivolous lawsuits which drain their financial resources and leave them in debt.
Their former colleagues shun them and they often find it hard to re-enter the labour market as prospective employers view them as troublesome.
Even if they manage to navigate the financial and psychological trauma that comes with blowing the whistle on corruption, the spectre of death remains an ever-present threat.
“I am just grateful to be alive,” said Martha Ngoye, the former head of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) legal division during her address at Deokaran’s memorial. Ngoye...
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