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AGE OF THE ASSASSIN

Seven suspects to appear in court on Monday in connection with murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran

Suspects will not be asked to enter a plea on Monday and the prosecution will ask for a seven-day remand to gather information for a bail hearing.
Seven suspects to appear in court on Monday in connection with murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran A candlelight vigil for corruption fighter Babita Deokaran at the office of the Gauteng premier on 26 August 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
29 Aug 2021
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Seven suspects arrested after the murder of Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) senior financial official Babita Deokaran will appear briefly on Monday in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court.

A day after the murder, employees from the GD0H visited Deokaran’s family and informed them that a senior official in the department had made threats to Deokaran.

On Monday, 23 August, Babita Deokaran, a senior Gauteng health department official, was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home. (Photo: Facebook)
On Monday 23 August, Babita Deokaran, a Gauteng Health Department official a senior official was gunned down outside her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg just after 8:00 in the morning.(Photo: Facebook)

Deokaran had been investigating personal protective equipment (PPE) tender corruption at the GDoH. The information she uncovered will be part of the evidence the State will use in the prosecution of the seven accused, who will not be asked to enter a plea on Monday. The prosecution will ask for a seven-day remand to gather information for a bail hearing.

The suspects, from KwaZulu-Natal, were arrested in the early hours of Friday at two properties in Rosettenville in Gauteng.

They face charges of murder and the illegal possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition in connection with the murder of 53-year-old Deokaran on Monday, 23 August, outside her home in Winchester Hills, Johannesburg. 

Deokaran had returned home at 8am after dropping her child at school when assailants in a BMW opened fire on her in her car. The single mother sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died in hospital.

The hitmen fled the scene and police traced their vehicle after a resident who took photos of the car handed these to investigators. 

The car was spotted outside Deokaran’s home three days before her murder, and a person inside the car was photographing the property. 

A month ago the suspects rented a house close to where Deokaran lived. Information is that the hitmen were paid an “exorbitant” amount to carry out the murder.

An intelligence officer in Gauteng, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Hits in Gauteng comprise a mastermind, a middleman and the hitmen. The middleman negotiates the price with the hitmen.

“The price also includes legal fees for the hitman in the event of being arrested. Part of this deal is for the hitman to take the fall and never stab the mastermind in the back.”

There has been a previous case of a murder committed by izinkabis (hitmen) from KZN. 

In October 2018 advocate Pete Mihalik was gunned down outside a school in Cape Town while dropping off his children.

Three suspects, Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti, were arrested. Evidence was that Biyela and Khumalo were from KZN and that they were hitmen for hire in the taxi industry.

Police Minister Bheki Cele, reacting to the arrests after Deokaran’s murder, said: “I’m told by the police that this is just the beginning. They are still going to go very far with the matter. Those arrested are regarded as hitmen, which means we have to find the bosses.” DM/MC

Comments

Gazeley Walker Aug 30, 2021, 10:33 AM

Cele says "they are going to go very far with the matter" - don't hold your breath - the "go far" part I believe refers to their next trip to the Cape for their annual holiday.

Ashley Stone Aug 30, 2021, 02:08 PM

Classic!

Rory Macnamara Aug 30, 2021, 02:02 PM

The Zapiro cartoon related to this tragedy should be reproduced, very large and hung in Parliament, every cabinet minister's office and the entrance to every SOE, Department buildings and included in every public servants (sic) pay slip. perhaps in the entrance to every business as well lest they have or even thinking of being corrupt. To all the whilstle blowers, South Africa owes you a huge debt. To those supposedly protecting whistleblowers get your act together - you have failed too many times!

Neil Parker Aug 30, 2021, 05:22 PM

Indeed and I think further that when these type of "hits" occur, we as citizenry expect and demand that whatever investigations were going on are intensified one hundred fold. Because plainly the criminals behind the murder expect the opposite. We need to be saying that we too will not rest until the perpetrator(s) are brought to book. Not just the hitmen but (far more importantly) those who hired the hitmen.

Neil Parker Aug 30, 2021, 04:11 PM

PPE scandals a little bit 'old hat' and already out in the open. Should we perhaps also follow the money trail in respect of vaccine procurement ? It's very worrying that we appear to have some very high level snakes in the grass with respect to financial aspects of the government's Covid 19 program. All the more so when the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) is being invoked to prevent discussion on Deokaran's murder. We owe it to this brave lady to force out into the open (or at least into responsible law enforcement hands) whatever it was she was trying to expose.

Charles Parr Aug 30, 2021, 06:06 PM

It's certainly going to come out now and might blow the entire Gauteng Health Dept wide open. Any any rate I hope it does.

Michael Clark Aug 30, 2021, 07:20 PM

This case will go nowhere, the masterminds will be protected by Cele and the ANC. SA is a gangster state and the ANC will protect its own. Even the beheadings in Natal recently where less important to Cele than a white family on a beach found not wearing masks.