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A memorial monument has been unveiled in Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban, in honour of slain whistleblower, Babita Deokaran. The senior finance official at the Gauteng Department of Health flagged suspicious, irregular, and fraudulent transactions at Tembisa Hospital estimated to be over R850 million.
She was assassinated outside her Johannesburg home in August 2021.
Her family, government leaders, and civil society organisations gathered for the unveiling on Women’s Day.
Five years after she was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home, her name has been permanently etched into a monument at the Shri Mariammen Temple Heritage Site in Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban.
The unveiling has been dubbed Deokaran’s homecoming as she spent her childhood praying at the same historic 103-year-old temple.
But as government and civil society gathered to honour her memory, questions remain over the safety of whistleblowers, and whether the masterminds behind her killing will ever face justice.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thami Ntuli, says the killing of Deokaran, during Women’s Month, was a direct insult to women in leadership.
“That Babita was killed during a Women’s Month was its own insult … her death stands in a long line of attacks on women who gave more to this country than it gave them.”
Emotions ran high for the Deokaran family, who gathered with both the pain of losing her and the pride of seeing her courage recognised.
Her niece, Karishma Rambally, says they want South African’s to remember the woman behind the headlines.
“To many South Africans, she became known as a whistleblower. To us, she was simply family. She was the aunt who celebrated birthdays with us, the aunt whose gentle smile made everyone feel welcome. She didn’t believe in being the centre of attention. She believed in doing her job well, believed in serving others, and doing what was right, even when no one was watching. She believed South Africa could be better. And because she believed that, she chose integrity over silence. She did not do what was right because she expected recognition or sought applause. She simply fulfilled her duty with honesty, humility and unwavering integrity,” explains Rambally.
For civil society, however, the question is whether Deokaran’s death exposed a much bigger institutional failure.
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation Executive Director, Neeshan Balton, says, “Babita was a symbol, yes. But before that, she was a mother, a colleague, a neighbour, and a woman whose life was violently stolen from her. Babita’s death does not rest only in the hands of the men who pulled the trigger. It stains a broken system that left her to stand entirely alone at the gates of the public purse. Let us remember Babita, not just as a name in the news, but as a mother, public servant, and much more. This unveiling is a direct call to our collective conscience. If Babita paid the ultimate price for truth, then we must ask ourselves, will we honour the sacrifice with empty words or will we find the courage to protect those who still stand where she once stood?”
The Acting Head of the Special Investigating Unit, Leonard Lekgetho, says the monument must not become a symbolic gesture that is forgotten once the ceremony ends.
“The greatest tribute we can pay to Babita is to refuse to remain silent in the face of wrongdoing. Miss Deokaran carried in her heart the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. She understood that public money belongs to the people, but not to the syndicate, not to criminals, and not to those who abuse positions of trust,” says Lekgetho.
KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC, Martin Meyer, announced an annual award in Babita Deokaran’s name.
Meyer says the award will recognise a departmental official who demonstrates exceptional commitment to ethical governance and clean administration.
“For Babita, looking away was never an option. Doing nothing was never an option. She paid, and through her, her family paid the ultimate price for that courage. Yet what I have seen since her tragic passing has given me hope. The sacrifice has not only reminded people of the cost of corruption. It has inspired more public servants to refuse to remain silent. That is why I am proud to announce today that from this year onwards, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will present an annual Babita Diokaram Award to an official who has gone above and beyond. This award will go to an official who goes above and beyond in promoting ethical governance, integrity, and clean administration of our department,” he says.
The monument now stands as a permanent reminder of a whistleblower, who refused to remain silent. But for those gathered here, the real test of Babita Deokaran’s legacy is not whether her name is remembered. It is whether whistleblowers are protected before they become victims, and whether those who profit from corruption are held accountable.
Women’s Day | Leaders gather for unveiling of monument in honour of Babita Deokaran: