The sleeping tournament for whistleblowers
On August 23, 2021, Ducaran dropped her teenage daughter off at school, went shopping at Checkers, and came home, where she was shot outside her front gate. She was a 53-year-old single mother who worked a desk job and spent most of her time alone in her kitchen — there could have been many less theatrical ways to get rid of her, but her killers chose murder in the cold daylight as any public demonstration intended to strike fear into any potential South African whistleblower.
And that must scare you. What protection did you expect from the government if you reported corruption as Ducaran did?
There is a long answer to this question Protected Disclosure Act. The short answer is “Vocole”. Whistleblowers in South Africa are often seen as outcasts, such as mpimpis (Snitch) and force them to resort to civil society organizations. said Martha Ngoy, Whistleblower Barasa Daily Maverick She was a victim because of her testimony at the Zondo Commission. She’s been suspended, threatened, sued, and even after being found innocent, the shadow of State Capture still haunts her in the form of bad debts. In the documentary, she did not show her belief that she would receive financial compensation as it should be according to the legislation.
The documentary
News 24The documentary is a summary of the coverage of the story and a tribute to Deokaran’s bravery. It’s not particularly cinematic. There’s only so much one can do with talking heads, recycled drone shots, and fast-paced videos trolling the suburbs. He thinks white card On an equal footing. The soundtrack is a lot of creepy background noise, and a cringe-worthy weepy pop song at the end.
But the movie is worth your time because of the content itself. It clearly breaks down her findings, and the interviews with her family are tragic obituaries. More importantly, it provides context for both her murder and the current state of her investigation, which hasn’t been going anywhere quickly for two years. Anyone who is passionate about this country should want to know why this is happening and what (not) is being done about it.
Why was Deokaran killed?
Deokaran was a key witness in the Special Investigation Unit’s investigation into the R332 million personal protective equipment (PPE) scandal at the Gauteng Department of Health. the state keeps That her assassination was planned to prevent her from testifying. starting News 24 She didn’t realize there was anything political about her murder, but journalist Jeff Weeks noted that she was a high-profile government official. Between her phone correspondence and thousands of emails to the Gauteng health department, there was a body of evidence that Dukaran had inadvertently uncovered a vast extraction network that was draining the Tembisa hospital’s budget.
Ducaran noticed that Tembisa was placing far more demands than other hospitals, often on seemingly unnecessary items and at inflated costs — 100 office chairs, a pair of skinny jeans, or arts and crafts supplies worth up to half a million rand. Figures from her actual reports appear in the documentary, often with the disturbing addition of computer stunt effect to tease repeated shots of spreadsheets.
Three days after the attack, six alleged killers from KwaZulu-Natal (five of whom came from the same valley) They are caughtPhakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphankyasi Dladla. Vakamani Hadibe initially claimed that the former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize He had ordered the beatings and paid R400,000 each, but then retracted the claim, and no one has yet been charged with masterminding the assassination. Despite the Hawks’ insistence that more arrests be made, the six remain the only suspects formally involved in the case, and their trial has been postponed several times. The case was supposed to go to court on July 17, 2023, but it was postponed to August 7 due to a defense lawyer claiming that he was ill.
In the weeks leading up to Ducaran’s assassination, she had expressed fear for her life. doomed no Shockingly, it is a symptom of a culture of government corruption. This is a fundamental problem for our nation. The big hitters we get angry with our government every day, load shedding, infrastructure, healthcare or whatever, these problems are exacerbated by corruption that can be exacerbated by a very dangerous climate for whistleblowers.
Where do you watch it
Silenced: Why Babita Ducaran Was Murdered Streaming is free for a limited time News 24. DM
You can call “we watch via” [email protected]
