The six men who pleaded guilty to murdering Department of Health whistle-blower Babita Deokaran have been sentenced to a combined 95 years imprisonment, on the eve of the second anniversary of her death.
Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, Mhlangano Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe, and Siphiwe Mazibuko were sentenced in the Gauteng High Court in Joburg on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson, Katlego Mogale, said Hadebe and Mbhele were sentenced to 22 years imprisonment on charges of murder, while Radebe and Mazibuko were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder.
Dladla was sentenced to eight years for murder and seven years imprisonment on charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition, and Ndlovu was sentenced to six years imprisonment for murder.
The DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, wanted the sentenced men to reveal “who the hit came from”.
“The DA is most concerned that the six men who have admitted guilt in the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran should reveal who gave them the orders to kill her,” he said.
“I hope their plea deal includes as much information as possible about those who wanted to stop Babita uncovering massive corruption at the Tembisa Hospital and elsewhere.
“Anything less will be a travesty of justice and a blow to Babita’s family who are commemorating the second anniversary of her murder tomorrow,” Bloom said.
Deokaran, 53, was shot on August 23, 2021 after returning from dropping her child off at school.
She blew the whistle on corruption by flagging large-scale fraud linked to Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng, and she had reported hundreds of millions of rand in questionable payments coming from Tembisa Hospital in the weeks before her death.
She implicated senior officials at the hospital, including top ANC politician Sello Sekhokho, among others.
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla welcomed the guilty plea and sentencing of the six men, but called on the accused to reveal who was “behind this dastardly deed of criminality”.
In December last year, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi admitted that Deokaran was killed for exposing R1billion worth of irregular tenders issued at the Tembisa Hospital.
At the time, Lesufi asked the Hawks to speedily investigate and arrest the kingpins and put them on trial along with six others charged with her murder. Lesufi said a preliminary Special Investigative Unit (SIU) report found a link between Deokaran’s role in exposing 227 companies and her murder.
“The SIU report found that there were fraudulent activities at Tembisa Hospital after receiving information supplied by Deokaran, who was the whistle-blower. She compiled that forensic report, which exposed corruption at the hospital,” Lesufi said.
Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, applauded both the investigation and prosecution teams for their work throughout the court proceedings.
Cape Times