Next Sunday, August 9, South Africans will commemorate national Women’s Day.
Across the country, millions of women will be celebrated with flowers, chocolates, lunches, fine wine, and heartfelt messages of appreciation for their immeasurable contributions to our families, communities, and nation.
For Sheila Mafole, the mother of assassinated Ekurhuleni municipality senior auditor Mpho Mafole, and for Thiara Deokaran, the daughter of assassinated whistleblower Babita Deokaran, no bouquet of carnations, box of Swiss chocolates, five-star luncheon, or carefully scripted message of goodwill can begin to erase the pain, trauma, loss, and injustice they have endured at the hands of those responsible for their suffering.
Similarly, for unlawfully accused crime intelligence officer Brig Dineo Mokwele, the physically abused Brig Lenora Phetlhe, and the maligned and threatened Independent Police Investigative Directorate senior investigator Nomsa Masuku, the scars inflicted by persecution and institutional abuse cannot be healed by symbolic gestures or annual tributes.
Let me explain.
This August 23 will mark five years since the brutal assassination of Deokaran — a dedicated public servant, single mother, and chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng health department.
She was gunned down in a calculated hit outside her modest south Johannesburg home after courageously exposing widespread corruption linked to procurement at Tembisa Hospital.
Although the gunmen who murdered Deokaran have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, those who allegedly orchestrated, enabled, or benefited from the corruption she exposed have yet to face justice. That accountability gap continues to undermine SA’s commitment to protecting whistleblowers and combating grand corruption.
The scars inflicted by persecution and institutional abuse cannot be healed by symbolic gestures or annual tributes.
— Tebogo Khaas, Public Interest SA
Among the most serious allegations are those against Deokaran’s former manager, then Gauteng department of health CFO Lerato Madyo, who is accused of compromising the confidentiality of Deokaran’s protected disclosures.
If true, this would constitute a grave breach of both the legal protections afforded to whistleblowers and the ethical duties of public office, potentially exposing Deokaran to the very forces that ultimately took her life.
Five years on, while the triggermen are behind bars, the alleged architects of the corruption she exposed — and those whose actions may have facilitated her assassination — have not been brought to justice.
That is not only an indictment of SA’s criminal justice system but also a chilling warning to every honest public servant weighing whether to expose corruption.
Deokaran paid the ultimate price for choosing integrity over silence.
Last year, I had the privilege of visiting the Mafole family at their immaculate home in Kempton Park. It was a deeply humbling experience. If there is such a thing as carrying the unimaginable pain of losing one’s cherished firstborn and only child with dignity and grace, the Mafole family embodies it.
Behind their warm hospitality lay a grief no parent should ever have to endure. Their lives were irrevocably shattered by the senseless loss of Mpho — a doting father to three and a dedicated public servant whose commitment to integrity is believed to have cost him his life.
According to reports, Mafole uncovered serious procurement irregularities in Ekurhuleni. His forensic findings reportedly exposed significant governance failures, procurement breaches, and financial risks that left the municipality vulnerable to irregular expenditure and costly litigation.
Instead of being commended for safeguarding the public purse, he was brutally assassinated in June 2025.
More than a year later, justice remains incomplete. While one suspect has been arrested and charged, a second remains at large. More troubling is that those who allegedly planned, commissioned, financed, or orchestrated Mafole’s assassination have yet to be identified and brought to justice.
This failure sends a chilling message to every honest public servant and whistleblower: exposing corruption can still carry a death sentence, while those who profit from it continue to enjoy apparent impunity.
For the Mafole family, especially Mme Mafole, whose devastating loss has taken a visible toll on her health, every day without full accountability is a stark reminder that justice delayed is justice denied.
As I conclude, let me turn my inkhorn to the injustice allegedly inflicted on Brig Dineo Mokwele — a highly accomplished public servant, qualified mechatronic engineer, and MBA candidate.
In an email copied to Andrea Johnson, the former head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu and others, private forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan not only unlawfully threatened Mokwele with criminal action but also demeaned her.
While it is perhaps unsurprising that Johnson appeared to see nothing untoward in O’Sullivan’s intrusion into the criminal justice system, it is far more disturbing that Mchunu seemingly remained silent as this alleged injustice against a young black woman unfolded before him.
Until Johnson, former National Director of Public Prosecutions boss, Adv Shamila Batohi, and suspended deputy crime intelligence boss Feroz Khan are held accountable, through due process, for the alleged unlawful disclosure of Phetlhe’s protected disclosure and for the underlying misconduct allegedly committed by Khan, witnesses and victims of wrongdoing will continue to face retaliation, intimidation, and workplace detriment for having the courage to speak out.
Until every person responsible — from those who plundered public funds and compromised the safety of others to those who abused their power — is held accountable through due process, the families of Mafole, Phetlhe, Mokwele, Masuku, Deokaran, and countless other heroes of integrity, indeed the nation itself, will struggle to believe that justice has truly been served.
To the men and women entrusted with administering justice, may this month serve as a solemn reminder that true tribute is not measured in flowers, speeches, promises, or ceremonies, but in the courage to deliver justice to the women, whistleblowers, victims, and families who continue to place their faith in our beleaguered criminal justice system.
Happy Women’s Month to every woman whose courage strengthens our nation.
- Khaas is the founder and chairperson of Public Interest SA
