The inaugural Babita Deokaran Annual Lecture organised by the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research (ACCERUS) under the leadership of Prof Pregala “Solosh” Pillay was held at the Stellenbosch University (SU) School of Public Leadership on 9 December 2025.

Centred on the theme “From Silence to Justice: Celebrating the Courage and Triumph of Whistleblowers,” the event marked four years since the assassination of Babita Deokaran on 23 August 2021 outside her Johannesburg home. At the time of her death, she was Acting Chief Financial Officer of the Gauteng Department of Health and a key witness in investigations into fraudulent personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement. Her courageous actions – including halting more than R850 million in irregular payments at Tembisa Hospital – made her a symbol of integrity in the public sector. Yet despite her pivotal role, she received no protection. Her murder remains a stark reminder of the dangers whistleblowers face in South Africa.

The event was supported by ACCERUS’ partners including Stellenbosch Business School, the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners, the Institute of Municipal People Practitioners, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), the Inclusive Society Institute, Capital Legacy and the Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management.

Among the attendees were Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa; Babita’s family member Mr Rakesh Deokaran; the Chairperson of the African Union Advisory Board against Corruption; the Secretary General of the African Association of Public Administration and Management; Public Service Commission Chair Prof Somadoda Fikeni; and Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka. They were joined by senior government officials, SU executives, civil society leaders, private-sector representatives, academics, students, school learners and ACCERUS board members.

Honouring a legacy of integrity

In her opening remarks, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, SU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, reflected on the enduring impact of Deokaran’s actions.

“This lecture commemorates the life and legacy of Babita, whose courage and commitment to ethical governance continue to inspire our work in advancing accountability and transparency in the public sector. I am hoping that some of the outcomes of the lecture will inform how best we can protect people who speak out, and how we can bring social justice to an environment where speaking out carries immense risk.”

She added: “Where we are now as a country and a continent contradicts the very essence of our democracy. We hope this lecture helps us find ways to intervene and repair the moral fibre of our society.”

Turning memory into responsibility

In her opening address, Prof Pillay, Director of ACCERUS, said the annual lecture forms part of the centre’s mission to “turn memory into responsibility and tragedy into collective courage”.

“Babita demanded accountability where others looked away – and for that she paid the ultimate price. Her death was preventable, her courage exceptional, and her legacy obliges us all.

“Whistleblowers are the early warning system of democracy, yet far too often they are isolated, vilified or killed. Justice must mean more than prosecution. It must mean policy reform that makes disclosure safe, protection mechanisms that activate without hesitation and prevention cultures where wrongdoing becomes unthinkable.

“Babita’s life teaches a timeless truth: integrity is choosing what is right even when no applause, audience or protection stand behind you. May this lecture be a lighthouse illuminating the path from silence to justice. May courage spread, truth endure and every whistleblower know they do not stand alone.”

A family’s tribute

Speaking on behalf of the Deokaran family, Mr Rakesh Deokaran provided a deeply personal account of Babita’s character and quiet brilliance.

“From her humble beginnings in the township of Phoenix in Durban, Babita grew up quietly determined, remarkably gifted and profoundly compassionate. Even as a child her brilliance was unmistakable – she could read before starting school and excelled academically. But beyond her achievements, she was endlessly generous with her time, offering guidance, encouragement and kindness to anyone who needed it.

“Her colleagues often speak of her warmth and unwavering work ethic. Even the security guard at her workplace shared how Babita never passed him without a greeting. Small gestures, perhaps, but ones that revealed the heart of who she truly was.”

Confronting uncomfortable truths

Professor Armand Bam, Associate Professor and Head of Social Impact at the Stellenbosch Business School, confronted the audience with this uncomfortable truth.

“Babita did not die because of corruption in government alone,” he explained. “She died because corruption is ecosystemic – and in that ecosystem business is not an innocent bystander. When corrupt tenders were awarded, someone from the private sector signed them. When PPE fraud flourished, it flourished because companies opened the door, walked in and asked what they could get away with. 

“The truth is that the private sector is also the author, architect and amplifier of corruption. Until business recognises and admits this, whistleblowing will remain a death sentence rather than a duty.”

He added: “Business Schools, both locally and internationally, must also confront the reality that the people who design corrupt systems are often our own graduates. If we educate leaders who become fluent in rationalising unethical decisions, then we are part of the problem. We cannot teach strategy without conscience, management without moral accountability or leadership without the courage to stand alone. The business world has a choice: become custodians of integrity or accomplices in silence.”

Mr Wayne Duvenage, co-founder of OUTA, reminded the audience of the human cost at the heart of the struggle.

“Babita was not a martyr in some grand ideological battle. She was a mother, sister, colleague and public servant – someone who believed in duty and refused to look away. Today we must honour all whistleblowers who have paid the price in some way or another – not only through memory but through action.

“May their courage force us to confront our own. May their sacrifice compel this nation to choose integrity over indifference. And may we all understand that protecting whistleblowers is not charity – it is the foundation of a functioning democracy.”

Keynote: Strengthening the framework for truth tellers

In his keynote address, Minister Hlabisa stressed that South Africa’s whistleblowing framework has for too long left courageous individuals exposed.

“The Protected Disclosures Act was designed to shield employees from occupational harm but its coverage and mechanisms have not kept pace with reality. It does not adequately protect contractors, volunteers or family members and as a result it does not provide incentives that match the personal risk whistleblowers take. 

“That is why the Department of Justice’s process, prompted by the Zondo Commission’s recommendations, to draft a Whistleblower Protection Bill and renew the witness protection system, is not only welcome but indispensable.”

Key reforms being discussed under this new bill include expanding the definition of a whistleblower, criminalising threats, establishing dedicated support agencies, enabling anonymous disclosures and resourcing protection via the Criminal Asset Recovery Fund.

The Minister also reflected on the gravity of the newly established Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System – the Madlanga Commission – whose hearings began in September.

“The commission is probing allegations that cut to the bone of public trust – from interference in investigations to the infiltration of organised crime into policy and prosecution. The Department of Justice has indicated that the witness protection guidelines with the commission have been finalised. This is not a bureaucratic note, but a life-or-death safeguard for those who step forward. 

“And yet, even as the nation undertakes that inquiry, we were confronted recently with another devastating loss. Marius van der Merwe, known to the commission as ‘Witness D’, was assassinated outside his home in Brakpan. ‘Witness D’ had just testified in November about alleged state crime collusion.

“These murders are not random acts. Exposure, retaliation and impunity thrive where institutions are weak, oversight is performative and consequences are sporadic.”

The minister emphasised that breaking this cycle must begin at local government level, where financial mismanagement and procurement failures create fertile ground for collusion.

He highlighted the work of the Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum, established in 2020 under the leadership of the Special Investigating Unit with CoGTA as its secretariat.

“To coordinate law enforcement, oversight, provincial support and civil society engagement in rooting out municipal corruption, we have strengthened this forum’s utility by introducing progress reviews and joint actions on investigations, ethics training and fraud risk assessments. This must become the default ecosystem within which whistleblowers in municipalities are heard, protected and supported.”

Public Protector Advocate Gcaleka closed the keynote segment by reminding the audience that Babita’s death “was not merely a personal tragedy, but an indictment of our collective failure to protect those who are brave enough to speak out”.

“It exposed the profound inadequacy of our whistleblower protection system and revealed the stark human cost of speaking out. Babita’s legacy thus demands that we move decisively and urgently from silence to justice. But one thing is for sure: the Deokaran name will carry a legacy of bravery and boldness.”

She added that honouring whistleblowers such as Babita is essential because “they are fighting to ensure that that which is enshrined in our Constitution is realised and that the imbalances of the past are redressed.”