(Johannesburg) – South African authorities have failed to protect whistleblowers, who expose corruption and criminal activities in government and state-owned enterprises, from attacks and killings, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities need to conduct effective, prompt, and impartial investigations to hold those responsible to account and to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
During the State of the Nation Address on February 12, 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa repeated a previous commitment to introduce a new Whistleblower Protection Bill in parliament. But the bill has not been passed and as the killings in 2025 of two whistleblowers, Mpho Mafole and Marius Van Der Merwe, demonstrate, whistleblowers cannot afford more unfulfilled promises.
“The scale and frequency with which whistleblowers are attacked and killed for exposing criminal syndicates and corruption is alarming and raises serious concerns for their safety and protection in South Africa,” said Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “South African authorities should urgently enhance safety measures for whistleblowers and address limitations in the existing legal framework.”
Unidentified people killed Mafole in a drive-by shooting on June 30, 2025, in Johannesburg. Mafole was a 47-year-old municipal forensic auditor and group divisional head for corporate and forensic audits for the city of Ekurhuleni. He had flagged procurement irregularities in a 1.8...
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