Govt must set up a law enforcement unit dedicated to destruction of hitman industry

Last week’s conviction of six men for the murder of Gauteng’s department of health whistleblower Babita Deokaran was supposed to be a big deal for her family, the country, whistleblowers and, more specifically, the rule of law. The dampener is that the police have not locked in on the mastermind(s) behind her death.

It is clear that those who have admitted to the shooting were acting on instruction because they themselves had very little to gain from her death. Someone higher up who was threatened by Deokaran’s work on irregular tenders amounting to R1 billion at Tembisa Hospital stood to benefit more.

ALSO READ: Community catches alleged hitman after councillor survives hail of bullets

Her family obviously needs the truth behind her death for their own closure, but catching the mastermind behind her contract killing might actually go to the heart of whether South Africa as a whole continues careering down this very slippery slope towards being a failed or mafia state.

Deokaran, a whistleblower who paid the ultimate price for doing good, has come to represent the battle between the existence of justice that can be delivered by the existence of the rule of law and the dark side, which will do anything to protect its ill-gotten wealth, instilling fear in all those who stand up for the good.

ALSO READ: Wife of murdered cop gets 25 years in jail, hitman sentenced to life

The manner of her death also matters greatly because it has all the hallmarks of a hit mostly seen in mafia movies: her car sprayed with many bullets to ensure a successful hit in broad daylight.

And therein lies the sad part: the country has descended so far down this road that hitmen do not foresee the possibility of being caught by law enforcement. But, also, the manner in which it was carried out means it became a warning to all those doing honest work to serve the citizens of this country.

The conviction of her killers comes in the same week that another contract killing of a Rustenburg businessman, who had foreseen the possibility of his detractors ordering his death, was caught on security videos.

ALSO READ: Nkandla hitman gets five life terms and 65 years for multiple counts of murder

The hit was also done in a public place, not dissimilar to the circumstances of the hit on hip-hop star AKA earlier in the year.

The effect of these very public assassinations on the nation’s psyche is much deeper than meets the eye. It not only says doing good can be rewarded with death, but those that carry out the killings have no fear of the law.

The scourge of contract killers being deployed at will in the taxi industry and now in general society requires more than Police Minister Bheki Cele’s rhetorical shouting that “we will do anything in our power to bring the killers to book.”

ALSO READ: Suspected hitman gunned down in shootout with cops

Killing for money in South Africa is now an industry and, as such, it requires a more organised response from government. It is a known and accepted fact that there are areas and specific places in this country that are breeding grounds for contract killers. It will take more than just a few statements on television to get rid of the scourge.

Even if the masterminds behind Deokaran’s murderers are never found, a meaningful tribute to her ultimate sacrifice would be to set up a law enforcement unit dedicated solely to the destruction of the inkabi or hitman industry.

Government would have to use more than ordinary police officers to show its upper hand. It would need an intricate network that includes experts from several fields.

ALSO READ: Hitman Malephane was a ‘career criminal’, court hears

Hitmen would know that the chances of getting away with it are slim and the masterminds would find it difficult to come across willing killers.