In many communities, crime is not always committed by strangers. Sometimes the person responsible is someone people know personally, a friend, neighbour, or even a family member. This raises a difficult and often emotional question: what should someone do if they know a loved one has committed a crime?

Financial support for those who speak out is coming, and lifestyle audits for prosecutors. Whistleblowers have often paid a heavy price for exposing corruption. Many have faced threats, job losses, violence and even death, with little in the way of state protection. Now, a long-awaited bill to protect them will be tabled.

Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal – A breakthrough in a nearly four-year-old murder case has brought some relief to the family of slain Gauteng businessman and whistleblower Marumo Eric Phenya, as police arrested the alleged hitman in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Minenhle Mthembu, 30, is accused of gunning down Phenya in a hail of bullets in Roodepoort on 17 October 2022, shortly after the victim exposed corruption in a multimillion-rand tender at the Department of Home Affairs.

A statement by Norman Kgosiyagofa Montjane, Attorney for the Phenya Family says Johannah Phenya, widow of the assassinated whistleblower, Marumo Eric Phenya, has confirmed that the Gauteng Provincial Office of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) has advised her of the arrest of one of the alleged hitmen linked to her husband’s murder.

A joint investigation led by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals the large-scale plundering spoliation of the Mangrove Marine Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and highlights whistleblower Kim Rebholz's extraordinary courage.

The Ad Hoc Committee investigating corruption within South Africa's law enforcement has wrapped up its public participation phase this week, hearing alarming testimonies from whistle-blowers, a former Crime Intelligence officer, serving police members, and a Member of Parliament.

President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the urgent need for enhanced protection measures for whistleblowers and witnesses in high-profile cases. Ramaphosa was reacting to yet another alleged hit on a key Madlanga Commission of Inquiry witness on Thursday.

On 13 July 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. This followed serious allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about the existence and operation of a sophisticated criminal syndicate that has allegedly infiltrated the criminal justice system in South Africa.

At the Department of Public Service and Administration’s International Anti-Corruption Day event, it wasn’t statistics or slogans that held the audience’s attention—it was the case studies. When Mr Ben Theron, CEO of The Whistleblower House (TWBH), took the podium, he spoke not only about corruption, but about the people who risk everything to expose it.

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has heard how a whistleblower was murdered shortly after exposing an unlawful Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) operation that led to the arrest of several officers.