Unpaid Legal Fees and Court Documents Stall Whistleblower Babita Deokaran's Murder Trial

• The case against the six men accused of murdering whistleblower Babita Deokaran has been postponed
• The defence team was given more evidence and required more time and there also an issue regarding the payment of legal fees
• The six accused have been remanded in custody until their next court appearance on Tuesday, 6 October

JOHANNESBURG - A year after the death of Gauteng health department official and whistleblower Babita Deokaran, the case against the six men accused of her murder has been postponed once again. The accused appeared at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 24 August.

The defence lawyer Shafique Sarlie said the team was given more evidence and required more time. However, according to News24, the delay was also related to the payment of legal fees for the defence.

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The murder accused are Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla. The case against the group of six was postponed to Tuesday, 6 October.

The six men face charges of murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and conspiracy to murder. The accused were denied bail last year in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.

Deokaran was a senior official in the financial division of the Gauteng Department of Health and a key witness in investigations conducted by Special Investigative Unit. Her murder is believed to have been a hit.

The Citizen reported that it is unclear who hired the hit on Deokaran. The six accused have been remanded in custody until their next court appearance.

South Africans react to the murder case:

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@mzsalha99 said:

“The Babita Deokaran story is just depressing and disgraceful.”

@inkjellybean wrote:

“This is even worse than we thought. Babita Deokaran tried to help the people.”

@cognacnana posted:

“They need to come clean on who ordered the hit.”

@robmartza added:

“Our justice system is a joke.”

Gauteng government hires independent investigators to probe murdered Babita Deokaran’s corruption allegations

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported an independent forensic investigator will be tasked with finding information related to the allegations brought forward by murdered Department of Health whistleblower Babita Deokaran.

The victim was a critical witness for the Special Investigating Unit and was killed in a drive-by shooting outside the home last year.

The matter was being probed by News24, and the investigations revealed that Deokaran escalated more than R800 million in irregular contracts.

Source: Briefly News