South Africa’s whistle-blowers are still being forced to make a life-or-death decision when they expose corruption, with watchdogs warning that the people who allegedly order attacks can remain beyond the reach of the law even after the alleged hitmen are arrested.
The issue has come into sharp focus in cases where alleged hitmen have been arrested and convicted, but those suspected of ordering or financing the attacks remain unidentified or unprosecuted.
Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) Southern Africa regional director Roshnee Narrandes said the country’s current whistle-blower protection laws do not adequately protect people whose disclosures put their lives at risk.
“There is no protection for whistleblowers in the current PDA,” Narrandes said.
She said the proposed Protected Disclosures Bill had identified witness protection as a possible solution, but warned that people were being assassinated simply for doing their jobs.
