The murder of whistle-blower, Babita Deokaran, who courageously flagged suspicious payments, underscores the deadly consequences of corruption and the urgent need for systemic reform.
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Dedicated to all whistle-blowers who have sacrificed their livelihoods and their lives. This Whistleblower Protection Bill is for them. It is for Babita Deokaran.
As South Africans, we have failed our whistle-blowers, the protectors of our democracy.
More than four years ago, on August 23, 2021, Babita Deokaran, a single mother and chief accountant in the Gauteng Department of Health, was gunned down outside her home. She had flagged irregular payments, maintained an evidentiary paper trail exposing those who looted public funds meant to serve the health needs of especially the poor, and tried to stop R100 million in questionable payments just days before her murder.
The Active Citizens Movement (ACM) wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa the following day. We expressed our deep anger, but also our profound sadness. We honoured Babita as a warrior who would not overlook corruption nor bow down to abusive power. We called for action.
Four years later, we acknowledge that the government has taken important baby steps. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has released the proposed Protected Disclosures Bill, 2026.
In reaching this point, the ACM recognises the enormous work of several civil society organisations, human rights activists, and journalists who have long campaigned for whistle-blower protection. Their tireless advocacy has kept this issue alive, and has laid the groundwork for the reforms we now see before us.
Out of a genuine desire to partner in getting this right, the ACM believes the bill can be strengthened further. Babita is dead. Sindiso Magaqa is dead. Marius van der Merwe is dead. Others have been killed, threatened, dismissed, and blacklisted. Half-hearted measures, however well-intentioned, will not be enough.
Let us be clear: the draft bill is a step forward. It expands the definition of whistle-blowers to include more people who expose wrongdoing. It strengthens confidentiality protections with criminal sanctions for breaches. It widens the channels through which disclosures can be made. It makes provision for legal assistance.
These are real improvements. They show that the department has taken on board input from civil society, the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (Nacac), and other stakeholders. The ACM acknowledges the complexity of this legislative reform and commends the department for undertaking it.
However, as partners in the fight against corruption, we respectfully suggest that certain critical gaps remain. We offer these observations not as criticism, but as a constructive contribution to strengthen the final legislation.
The draft bill currently presents what the ACM has termed a "protection versus exposure paradox" – it encourages disclosure but does not yet provide sufficient safeguards for those who come forward. We believe these gaps can be addressed through targeted amendments.
Independent oversight. Under the current draft, complaints would be handled by employers or organs of state sometimes implicated in the very wrongdoing being reported. An independent whistle-blower commission, headed by a retired judge, would provide the impartial oversight that whistle-blowers desperately need and deserve.
Evidentiary burden. Whistle-blowers are often isolated, without resources, and unable to access internal evidence. Requiring them to prove that the retaliation was caused by their disclosure is, in practice, unrealistic. Shifting the legal burden to the alleged retaliator once a credible link is shown between disclosure and retaliation, would align South Africa with international best practice.
Criminal sanctions. Without meaningful criminal penalties, retaliation remains a low-risk strategy for wrongdoers. Including a minimum sentence for proven retaliation will create the deterrent effect that civil remedies alone cannot achieve.
Support mechanisms. Whistle-blowers who lose their income or homes, or whose physical and mental health are severely affected currently, have no safety net. A dedicated whistle-blower support fund, financed from asset recoveries and fines, would provide the financial and psychosocial support that keeps whistle-blowers alive, and able to pursue justice.
Specialised adjudication. Retaliation cases require specialised knowledge. A dedicated whistle-blower tribunal with real teeth to make binding orders and impose punishment, would ensure consistent, speedy outcomes and reduce the burden on our already overstretched courts.
Retrospective relief. Whistle-blowers who, for example, risked everything to testify before the Zondo Commission deserve to benefit from the new law. Providing relief retrospectively to those who made protected disclosures on or after October 1, 2003, would remedy past injustices and send a powerful message that wrongdoers have nowhere to hide.
Non-disclosure agreements and personal liability. Confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure agreements which hide wrongdoing, should not be allowed to silence whistle-blowers. And those who retaliate, not just their employers, should be personally liable for their actions.
Protection for refusal of unlawful orders. A person who refuses an illegal instruction or stops an unlawful action does not actually make a disclosure, but nonetheless acts as a corruption-blocker. Such persons should be considered to have made a protected disclosure.
These proposals are not foreign to the government's own framework. They are grounded in the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (Nacs) 2020–2030, and the final report of the Nacac of August 2025.
The Nacs, under its first strategic pillar, calls for a culture of reporting and whistle-blowing. The Nacac report explicitly recommended legislative reforms to criminalise retaliation, and establish independent bodies for managing disclosures and providing comprehensive support such as legal, medical, physical, and psychosocial. In doing so, we are not merely mimicking what the Western countries boast about, but drawing on our own home-grown solutions.
The ACM Whistle-blower Protection Bill, 2026 gives effect to those very recommendations. It is not an adversarial document. It is a partnered proposal to help the government deliver on its own commitments.
The ACM has called for August 23 to be declared National Whistle-blowers Day – a day to remember the sacrificed, celebrate the brave, and educate the public. We believe this would be a fitting tribute to Babita and a powerful educational tool.
The DoJ has laid a foundation. We ask that Parliament and the department work with civil society organisations to build on that foundation. We seek to partner. The fight against corruption is a shared national project. Whistle-blowers are on the front line. They deserve a law that truly protects them.
We fully understand that the legislative process must be thorough and time-consuming, and do not expect a new law to be passed in a few weeks or months. Yet whistle-blowers continue to remain exposed, with inadequate protection and no material support. The ACM considers the need for interim support for whistle-blowers to be compelling.
In this regard, we make an urgent call on the president and Cabinet to immediately approve the following measures, together with a budget and protocols, to support whistle-blowers until the Whistle-blower Protection Act has been passed: physical security, employment safeguards, emergency relief, legal aid, debt rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and retroactive application.
The ACM remains available for further engagement, workshops, or meetings with officials. We have done the work. We have drafted the amendments. We offer them in a spirit of partnership, with the shared goal of strengthening our constitutional democracy and building a capable, ethical state.
Let us honour Babita and all whistle-blowers with action; not tomorrow, but today.
Professor Yousuf Vawda
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Pops Rampersad
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Professor Yousuf Vawda is the founding member and patron of ACM and Pops Rampersad is an executive committee member of ACM.
The ACM's full submission, including the clause by clause amended bill, is available on request via email to [email protected]
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.