Hawks Nab Tembisa Hospital fraud suspect in dramatic OR Tambo Airport arrest
The man had just returned from an overseas flight.
The Hawks have apprehended a 37-year-old suspect at OR Tambo International Airport, marking a significant development in the Tembisa Hospital corruption investigation. The suspect, believed to be involved in the multimillion-rand tender fraud at the Tembisa hospital, was taken into custody as he disembarked from an overseas flight on August 28, 2026.
Colonel Katlego Mogale, a spokesperson for the Hawks, stated that the arrest is part of the ongoing Serious Corruption Investigation into the Tembisa Hospital graft scandal. The suspect is charged with fraud, corruption, and money laundering and is set to appear in court on August 31, 2026. The allegations against the suspect and the hospital officials stem from the use of the Request for Quotations (RFQs) system to exploit tender transactions below the R500,000 threshold, bypassing formal tender processes.
The whistleblower responsible for exposing the irregularities, Babita Deokaran, was tragically murdered in August 2021 after revealing the corruption at Tembisa Hospital. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has since confirmed that over R2.04 billion was stolen through 207 front companies and nine syndicates. Despite the conviction of six hitmen for Deokaran's murder, those who allegedly ordered her assassination have not been brought to justice.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has been advocating for justice in the Tembisa Hospital case, highlighting the ongoing struggle for accountability and the failure to deliver justice for whistleblowers like Deokaran.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
