President Cyril Ramaphosa Says Laws Need to Tighten to Protect Whistleblowers

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has applauded Babita Deokaran and whistleblowers alike for their bravery in speaking out against corruption
• Ramaphosa stated that while laws to protect whistleblowers who anonymously expose corruption exist, tighter laws are needed for public whistleblowers
• Deokaran was murdered after exposing the Gauteng Department's of Health PPE tender corruption

JOHANNESBURG - Following the murder of Babita Deokaran, President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa needs to tighten laws to ensure that whistleblowers are protected.

In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa stated it was clear that since the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, the fight against corruption has intensified and as a result, South African laws and policies needed to be improved to protect individuals who stand up to corruption, according to TimesLIVE.

Deokaran, a Gauteng Health Department finance official, was tragically murdered in her driveway after exposing PPE corruption in the department. She was set to testify against top officials implicated in the tender procurement scandal and was the Special Investigating Unit's main witness.

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Ramaphosa praised Deokaran's actions and stated that her bravery to stand up to corruption shows a commitment to uphold South Africa's democracy. He went on to say that South Africa can not let whistleblowers like Deokaran down.

“We cannot let them down. We must, and we will, ensure their disclosures result in prosecutions and do much more to ensure they are protected from harm," wrote Ramaphosa.

He went on to highlight that South African laws provide protection for individuals that report corruption anonymously, however, the country's laws need to also better protect those who speak out publicly, reports News24.

Ramaphosa further stated that individuals that attempted to silence whistleblowers and witnesses will not be successful and that their corruption will be exposed.

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He encouraged South Africans to stand firm and send a clear message that the silencing of whistleblowers will not stop people from exposing corruption.

7 Suspects arrested in the killing of PPE corruption whistleblower Babita Deokaran

Briefly News previously reported that reports state that the police have arrested at least seven people suspected of being involved in the brutal murder of Babita Deokaran, who was set to be the Special Investigating Unit's witness in a PPE corruption scandal.

According to eNCA, the suspects were arrested after police raided several parts of Johannesburg on Thursday night. The takedown of the suspects was conducted by the Johannesburg SAPS K9 Unit, the Gauteng Serious Crimes Unit, the Johannesburg East Crime Unit, Fidelity Specialised Services and Community Active Protection.

According to reports by seasoned journalist Barry Bateman, five of the suspects were arrested in Rosentenville and a sixth suspect arrested in the East Rand was in possession of the vehicle used to flee the scene.

Source: Briefly News