Yesterday, we woke to headlines about corruption whistle-blower Athol Williams, who decided to leave the country as he believed his life was in danger.
Williams said he was “forced to leave SA” without his family and was in hiding. He had testified against consulting firm Bain & Company at the state capture commission of inquiry earlier this year.
“Concern for my safety had been growing since I blew the whistle on companies and individuals involved in state capture and testified before the Zondo commission. Rather than diminish after I testified, these concerns increased while the prospect of prosecutions grew,” he said in a statement released on social media on Sunday.
Williams said the killing of Gauteng health department acting financial officer Babita Deokaran had also influenced his decision to leave.
The state capture witness said it was worrying knowing that government offers no protection" even after he had acted in the public interest. He had implicated 39 parties in his testimony to the commission so “threats could come from many places".
“After receiving warnings from trusted allies and a civil society organisation about a co-ordinated effort against me, I took the sad step to leave home, again without any help," he said.
Just two months ago when Deokaran was murdered, President Cyril Ramaphosa said laws and policies needed to be strengthened to support and protect whistle-blowers.
The witness protection programme under the department of justice and correctional services provides protection for witnesses in judicial matters on a voluntary basis.
What government can do is to extend the protection to all whistle-blowers, not just to witnesses in court cases, in the interim as they work on changing the law. Amendments take long and a solution is needed now to protect the vulnerable.
People who have risked their lives to reveal corruption and fraud cannot be left to continue paying for their protection or to die after revealing wrongdoing. The state must come to their rescue and pay for them and their families' living expenses when they go into hiding.
Security measures must be considered from the onset when a witness comes forward with information. They need to be informed that they have an option to give the information and remain anonymous to ensure they do not become targets, like some who testified under false names during the state capture hearings.
They did their public duty, let us protect them.
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