Two South African whistle-blowers have received international recognition at the 2025 Blueprint for Free Speech Awards, announced during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday.
The honours were awarded to Tumiso Mphuthi, who exposed large-scale procurement irregularities at the Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (Ceta), and the late Pamela Mabini, a community activist who alerted authorities to alleged sex trafficking linked to televangelist Timothy Omotoso.
Mabini, a respected activist against gender-based violence, was shot dead outside her Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, home in March 2025. Her award was accepted by a relative, Luzuko Gaxamba, who said the recognition was more than symbolic.
The family plans to use the prize money to grow the Maro Foundation, an NGO Mabini founded to support GBV survivors, offer advocacy, and provide development programmes.
Gaxamba described Mabini as a passionate community builder who abandoned formal employment to work full-time with vulnerable families. She became a key whistle-blower in the Omotoso case, supporting victims despite repeated threats. “She once had gunmen come to her home. She never backed down,” he told Sowetan.
“Her murder shows why SA urgently needs stronger protection for whistle-blowers.”
Gaxamba said the award will ensure her legacy lives far beyond her death. “The prize money will go a long way. Pamela was a breadwinner, and her death devastated us,” he said.
Mabini’s murderers are still at large.
Omotoso was acquitted in March and he was deported back to Nigeria shortly afterwards after being expelled for being in SA illegally.
Meanwhile, Mphuthi told Sowetan while her whistle-blowing has ruined her career, the award brings rare comfort after years of intimidation, professional victimsation, and fear for her family’s safety.
Her journey at Ceta began in 2012 when she was appointed as a supply-chain specialist. “At the time, the organisation was under administration, and there were many irregularities,” she said.
“Policies were not aligned to the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act], tenders were riddled with misconduct, and due process was routinely ignored. Under the administrator, I helped clean up the system, and by 2014 Ceta emerged from administration.”
Mphuthi said trouble resurfaced in 2015 with the appointment of a new manager. “By 2018, she sidelined me completely. If she wanted a certain company to get a tender, she made sure I was not part of the process,” she said.
Mphuthi began uncovering serious breaches, including tenders awarded to companies that had not attended compulsory briefing sessions; and fraudulent purchase orders worth millions allegedly processed through a subordinate acting on instructions from the CFO.
In 2019 Mphuthi made a protected disclosure to the audit committee. Ceta was again placed under administration in 2020, and she and colleagues were removed from the unit during investigations but was returned the following year.
However, two years later, Mphuthi was suspended and accused of the same irregularities she had reported. “I’m being victimised, dragged on social media, and followed by suspicious cars. My safety and that of my children is compromised,” she said.
“Even though I’m on paid suspension, my career has been destroyed. Being honoured brings hope but also exposes how whistle-blowers in SA are failed. It tells people: if you report wrongdoing, you might lose your job or your life, like Babita Deokaran and nothing happens.”
Sowetan
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