South Africa’s standing in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index has declined over the past five years, dropping two places to 72 out of 180 in 2022. 

Despite the work of the Zondo Commission in exposing State Capture and corruption during the Zuma era, concerns are mounting.

Dr Suelette Dreyfus, executive director of the non-profit Blueprint for Free Speech, suggests there may be a resurgence of corruption in SA, coinciding with insufficient support for whistle-blowers who are crucial figures in the fight against corruption.

The Blueprint for Free Speech Whistleblowing Awards, now in their third year, shed light on the challenges faced by whistle-blowers in South Africa. 

Despite the Protected Disclosures Act, designed to safeguard those exposing corruption, the winners of the 2023 awards exemplify the harsh realities whistle-blowers face.

In 2023, five of the 11 whistle-blowers recognised were South African. 

Notably, the previous year saw four South African whistle-blowers honoured. Both in the 2022 and 2023 awards, women dominated the list. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Global award for four SA whistle-blowers highlights the lack of local recognition for those who expose corruption

“We don’t know exactly why we have anecdotally been seeing more female whistle-blowers in South Africa. Whistle-blowers often come from compliance, accounting, auditing and governance areas. Women may gravitate more towards these areas as they may provide a more female-friendly pathway to becoming an executive than the more male-dominated career paths,” Dreyfus said.

“It could also be that more women are joining the top ranks of organisations – and this is where we find the big fraud and money laundering that whistle-blowing often unveils. Or a combination of both. These are theories – we don’t know for sure – but they make sense. It’s a research project waiting to happen.”

Among the 2023 winners are Mzukisi Makatse, Mathapelo More, Johannah Phenya, Dawood Khan and Wardah Latief. 

Mzukisi Makatse

Mzukisi Makatse was a grant officer at South Africa’s Lotteries Commission. She blew the whistle on corruption within the organisation, exposing a scheme to misuse funds meant for charities.

Refusing to approve a suspicious grant, he faced suspension, dismissal and considerable personal losses. Despite legal battles and personal hardships, Makatse’s concerns were later vindicated as investigations revealed large-scale corruption in lottery grants. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Right the wrongs done to us, argue targeted Lottery whistleblowers

New leadership at the Lotteries Commission is addressing the rot in the organisation, but Makatse emphasises the need for stronger whistle-blower protection.

“South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, needs to do far more than pay lip service to protecting whistle-blowers. Whistle-blowing is the only realistic way to fight corruption. But in South Africa, they are hunted down like rats or hounded out of their places of work. When they are inevitably dismissed, criminal or civil cases are instituted against them to ensure that they are completely dead and buried,” continued Makatse.

Mathapelo More

Mathapelo More, a former internal audit and risk manager at Daybreak Farms, a state-owned poultry producer in South Africa, faced adversity when she took on the role of ethics officer.

Tasked with cleaning up corruption, she encountered threats and pushback. Despite her efforts leading to the company’s turnaround, a new board, implicated in irregularities, retaliated. More and her team, flagging governance lapses, faced suspension. A letter outlining concerns sent to the Public Investment Corporation led to further retaliation, including a defamation suit.

Although a dispute resolution council ruled her dismissal unfair, Daybreak resisted reinstatement. A bogus criminal case followed, making her unemployable. The company’s extravagant spending on legal fees and targeting whistle-blowers emerged, prompting the PIC to replace the board. 

This brings small comfort to More, whose life has been shattered. 

She has become unemployable and has not earned a salary for two and a half years. She barely avoided having her home repossessed thanks to donations from friends and family. Her son was forced to drop out of university in his final year because she could not afford his fees. 

More feels broken, abandoned and utterly disillusioned at how whistle-blowers are treated in South Africa.

“Nobody cares about the Protected Disclosures Act, and nobody cares about whistle-blowers. They leave you out there to hang, and they watch you while it is happening,” she told the Sunday Times.

Johannah Phenya

Johannah Phenya, owner of Foursight IT Business Solutions, faced a tragic turn of events after exposing corruption in a state tender. Winning a lucrative contract with the Department of Home Affairs, they discovered their partner company’s fraudulent practices. Reporting concerns, they cancelled the subcontract, leading to threats to their lives. Despite reporting the threats to the police, Johannah’s husband, Marumo, was assassinated. 

Johannah, undeterred, continued to testify against implicated officials, resulting in resignations and criminal proceedings. However, a year later, no progress has been made in arresting the perpetrators who killed her husband.

Johannah says their children are traumatised and fear for their lives.

“Sometimes they get so angry, and say, ‘why did you guys do that?’ And I tell them that we did it to protect you in future, so that you can have jobs. I say, ‘If we let these guys get away with corruption, it means there won’t be anything left for you in the future’.”

But even so, she finds herself struggling to justify it to herself.

“I told them you have to stand by your truth. But at the same time, the truth has cost them their dad. Looking at the kids, every morning, when they long for their dad, it’s so painful. It has cost me my husband. Especially when you have been with someone for 21 years and he is no longer there. It’s heavy. It’s difficult. But every day I wake up and say, thank God I am still here.”   

Like many other whistle-blowers in South Africa, Johannah feels the government’s assurances of protection and support amount to little more than lip service for the cameras. 

“It’s all just talk. There is no protection. If you are a whistle-blower in South Africa, you are on your own. You have to beef up your own security, or you will be killed,” she said.

Despite the pain, Johannah remains committed to standing by the truth and advocating for justice.

Dawood Khan and Wardah Latief

Dawood Khan and Wardah Latief are related to one of South Africa’s most notorious alleged money launderers known as Mo Dollars.  

They blew the whistle on a South African money laundering scheme. In an Al Jazeera documentary, they revealed how Mo Dollars (Mohamed Khan) was implicated in funnelling proceeds from illicit cigarette sales in South Africa to Dubai, while working for Gold Leaf Tobacco.

Dawood disclosed six years of direct involvement in money laundering, detailing illicit transfers, forging documents and bribing bank officials. 

Wardah, married to Mo for 19 years, exposed how she collected cash allegedly laundered by her husband. Both whistle-blowers are in hiding.

Dawood survived two assassination attempts, emphasising the risk of exposing individuals with top government connections in South Africa, the UAE and Zimbabwe. Wardah shared insights on bribery in order to control Sasfin Bank’s foreign exchange division.

The disclosures prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to initiate a probe while Sasfin fired implicated employees. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority revoked the operating licence of a Mo Dollars company accused of money laundering. 

Mo Dollars and Gold Leaf Tobacco deny wrongdoing.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Impoverished State Capture whistle-blowers beg banks for relief

This year’s list of award winners highlighted major international whistle-blowing stories, with recipients hailing from countries including Poland, the United States, Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom. These included the Tesla whistle-blower and the UK’s Lucy Letby case.

Other recipients of the 2023 awards include Dr Ravi Jayaram, Dr Steve Brearey, Dr John Gibbs and other paediatric consultants at the Countess of Chester NHS Trust who played a vital role in patient safety in the Lucy Letby case. 

Recipients also included Michael Bawduniak, Neville Devete and Lukasz Krupski. DM