KwaZulu-Natal Premier Honourable Thamsanqa Ntuli joined the family of slain whistleblower Babita Deokaran to unveil a memorial monument in her honour. The ceremony took place at the Shri Marriammen Temple Heritage Site in Mount Edgecombe, Durban, where Deokaran grew up. It marks roughly five years since her August 2021 assassination. She was murdered outside her Johannesburg home after exposing extensive corruption within the Gauteng Department of Health.
KWAZULU-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli called for enhanced protection of whistleblowers while commemorating Babita Deokaran, a courageous figure who lost her life exposing corruption in the Gauteng Health Department.
He was speaking on Sunday, at the unveiling of a monument, by the Mount Edgecombe Arts and Cultural Centre, at the Shri Marieammen Temple, in honour of the Deokaran.
Deokaran worked as a senior official at the Gauteng Health Department. She flagged suspicious, irregular and fraudulent transactions at Tembisa Hospital estimated to be over R850 million.
Ntuli said Deokaran, who was gunned down during Women's Month, displayed the courage of more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings, to protest against the oppressive Pass Laws.
