President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed some shocking examples of threats levelled against corruption busters in state institutions.
“I know of one manager at Eskom who goes about wearing a bullet proof vest to work; who has two protectors at any given time. His wife also has two protectors and his children go to school with protectors as well.
“That goes to show you the threat that some of the people we deploy live under. One applauds them for their bravery,” said Ramaphosa.
He said in some instances professionals who had come under threat immediately resigned finding the threats not worth testing.
“We do protect once a threat has been made and [it’s] someone who does valuable work. At the same time, we want to investigate where the threat is coming from so that we can deal with it. We don’t leave the people who become vulnerable all on their own.”
He said while there were instances where the state had failed to give protection to those who needed it, “generally we give protection to those who need protection”.
Ramaphosa said he was concerned about the alleged case of poisoning against outgoing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and by the killing of the Fort Hare vice-chancellor Prof Sakhela Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele.
He said he would be speaking to Buhlungu in a few days.
“I would be speaking to vice chancellor in a day or two. The minister will go to the Eastern Cape to see him and a number of role players. I am concerned because some of these people have been leading the charge against corruption and you can see you it evokes reaction in some ways. “It is concerning that those who have taken strong positions on issues of integrity and corruption may well be victims or be targeted.”
Sowetan’s sister publication Daily Dispatch reports that Buhlungu now pinned his hopes on Ramaphosa to address the safety and security concerns after several attacks on Fort Hare staff members. “One person who runs the country is the president,” Buhlungu said. “I spoke to the minister [of higher education, Blade Nzimande]. He called me yesterday [Saturday], I won’t divulge what we said. I’m running a public institution funded by taxpayers’ money. I’m not a special case.”
Buhlungu said he believed there was a hidden hand behind the case of the university’s fleet and transport manager, who was gunned down in East London in 2022. Petrus Roets was shot dead on May 19 in a suspected hit near the traffic lights at the Gonubie off-ramp from the national road. He was driving home from work at the university’s Dikeni (formerly Alice) campus when he was attacked by two gunmen, who then sped off. At the time, police spokesperson Brig Tembinkosi Kinana said police were investigating a case of murder and the suspects were still at large.
However, Kinana did not respond to the Dispatch’s inquiry asking him to provide an update on the case by print deadline on Monday. Buhlungu, who believes he was the target of an assassination attempt on Friday night in which his bodyguard was killed, said the case involving the fleet manager had been at a critical stage but somehow it had stalled. It was “clear it’s something that’s man-made and orchestrated”.
“None of them [government officials] has asked what happened to that case, nothing,” he said. “It’s as if a dog died that day. “Nothing. No big deal. The whole lot, nothing. These are the officials who are supposed to look after our wellbeing. Nobody said anything. Why do you expect me now to waste my time with those people?”
— Additional reporting by Vuyolethu Sangotsha
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.