Blood price of integrity: Ekurhuleni Mayor warns of exodus amid assassination of Mpho Mafole

Ekurhuleni Mayor, Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, has sounded a chilling warning: Unless South Africa protects the integrity warriors within its public institutions, the state faces a mass exodus of professionals — and with it, the collapse of public trust.

Speaking at the funeral of slain forensic auditor Mpho Mafole on Sunday, Xhakaza delivered an emotional but forceful address, condemning what he described as a deepening climate of fear targeting civil servants confronting corruption head-on.

"If we don’t pull up and enforce the law and ensure there are consequences, we will lose some of these professionals. They will want to leave the public service and it will mean the public trust will be eroded,” he said.

Mafole, a respected figure in the metro’s anti-corruption unit, was gunned down in a brutal ambush last week while returning home from work.

His assassination has rocked the city and sparked national outrage.

Reports confirmed that Mafole had been spearheading a high-stakes investigation into the unexplained disappearance of R2 billion from Ekurhuleni’s municipal revenue.

According to Xhakaza, the forensic auditor had recently compiled and submitted a comprehensive charge sheet — a move believed to have advanced the case significantly before his untimely death.

While the motive for the killing remains unconfirmed, parallels are already being drawn to a chilling pattern in South Africa: public servants who expose corruption being systematically silenced — permanently.

This cannot be another case that fades into silence, Xhakaza said.

The mayor affirmed that the municipality was cooperating fully with the police investigation and emphasised the urgency of justice — not only for Mafole’s family, but for every civil servant still daring to stand up to the rot.

As the investigation into the missing billions continues, so too does the hunt for Mafole’s killers.

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