BizCommunity | In News | 26 February 2024

‘Corruption emergency‘ calls for whistle blower intervention

Probably the most shocking whistle blower killing to occur in South Africa in recent times was the brutal assassination of Babita Deokoran, mother, family woman and senior manager at the Gauteng Health Department. Her attempts to prevent illicit Covid procurement payments running into the hundreds of millions led to her ambush and death in a hail of bullets as she arrived home after dropping her daughter at school. Shot fatally nine times, she died later in hospital.
In our history as South Africans, we witnessed the atrocities of apartheid police actions against antiapartheid fighters many of whom lost their lives: The system has changed but the tradition of whistleblowing remains – and with it a continued need to update our forensic work as citizens, so we understand and express what is afoot in our world, so that we can continue to improve the situations we find ourselves in, in order to raise political awareness around present challenges.

The South African Human Rights commission says whistleblowing is an essential weapon in the fight against corruption, perhaps the single most important obstacle to SA achieving the status it needs to achieve as a ‘moral’ Rainbow Nation. Because of South Africa’s history some observers reflect that the country is naturally drawn to stories of justice and reconciliation, hence perhaps the national instinct to support South Africa’s genocide application to the ICJ in the case of Israel vs Palestine. The broad view is that it would have been to South Africa’s detriment to remain silent whilst witnessing an event on the world stage that mirrored and magnified crimes like detention without trial and ethnic restriction of civil rights, that were a signature of South Africa’s apartheid policy preceding 1994.

New South African movie response
A new South African thriller due for release this month on Amazon, is inspired by several true South African whistle blower stories: Death of a Whistleblower is directed by Ian Gabriel and stars Noxolo Dlamini (South African Film and TV Awards – SAFTA – Best Actress 2023) and Irshaad Ally (Four Corners) and is produced by Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri from KAE (Known Artists Entertainment in partnership with EVOD).

Death of a Whistleblower deliberately bridges events from the past and links them to events in the present, drawing a line from the notorious Project Coast chemical weapons program of the eighties through to the continuation in the present of powerful private security agencies in South Africa who have the ability and power to call the shots at high levels when they choose to do so.

The South African film shot early in 2023, deals with the increasing phenomenon of gangster style executions awaiting whistle blowers attempting to expose forms of institutional corruption. Recently completed, the film was welcomed at the Toronto’s International Film Festival as a work that ‘transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience’.

“In devising Death of a Whistleblower, we wanted to connect the crimes of South Africa’s past with our present-day crimes of corruption. Our objective was to highlight both the differences and similarities between the two eras,” said director Ian Gabriel.

Corruption emergency
The deaths of whistle blowers in South Africa has been described as a ‘corruption emergency’, posing a serious moral question for the Rainbow Nation

The research and analysis journal, The Conversation, observes that legislation and regulations in South Africa present a confusing web for whistleblowers to navigate and results in inconsistent protection, despite the ‘corruption emergency that South Africans are facing.

The events in Death of a Whistleblower are bracketed by two crimes, committed 37 years apart. The one crime, as fresh as today’s headlines, is revealed near the closing minutes of the film. The other is buried in a cover up concealed since the eighties. The perennial question of revenge or forgiveness is raised as key options in the film

True story sacrifices
The closing images of the film highlights the true story sacrifice of the lives of five South African whistle blowers, all dedicated to sharing truth with their fellow South Africans, all killed by vengeful gangster style attacks by shadowy individuals determined to keep truth in South Africa from seeing the light of day. The film ends with a dedication to the truths that each of five South African rainbow nation warriors from 2010 – 2023 have given their lives for.

Death of a Whistleblower screens at the Joburg Film Festival in Sandton Square on 28 Feb and streams from the same day on Amazon Prime.

Watch the trailer here.