Five years on: The Legacy of Babita Deokaran and the fight against corruption
On the 5th anniversary of Babita Deokaran's tragic assassination, the Active Citizen's Movement calls for a robust whistleblower protection system to combat corruption and ensure accountability within public service.
Five years have passed since the assassination of Babita Deokaran, a courageous advocate against corruption in South Africa. The Active Citizen's Movement (ACM), a civil society organization, continues to honor her legacy by emphasizing the need for an ethical public service culture and accountability at the management level, up to the ministerial level.
The movement believes that the Protected Disclosures Bill (PDB) alone would not have protected Deokaran, as her manager failed to take any protective measures. Although the proposed draft PDB is an improvement, it is still inadequate, and a non-governmental, independent institute with sufficient resources is crucial to create a robust whistleblower protection system.
This system should provide legal assistance, psychosocial counseling, income support, and measures to safeguard whistleblowers' evidence and identities. The fight against corruption must focus on abuses of power and criminal syndicates that are not afraid to kill opponents. Corruption spreads like a cancer, eroding our healthcare system and unfairly blaming foreign nationals.
Dr. Nora Saneka, the chairperson of ACM, passionately campaigns against corruption, advocates for stronger whistleblower protection laws, and promotes human rights and civic accountability.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
