Case against Babita Deokaran’s alleged killers postponed till April

The case against the six men arrested for senior Gauteng Health official and whistle-blower Babita Deokaran’s murder, is due back in court in April.

It came briefly before the Johannesburg Regional Court on Thursday morning, and was postponed to 12 April  for further investigations, with the accused remanded in custody until then.

Following a marathon bail application – spanning over six weeks – the accused were denied bail in December. This was their first appearance in the dock since then.

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Deokaran was gunned down in an apparent hit outside her home in Mondeor, South Johannesburg, last August. She was returning after having dropped her teenage daughter at school and had stopped just metres from her front gate to pick up her domestic worker, when her car came under fire.

A high-ranking official in the financial division of the Gauteng Department of Health, Deokaran was also a witness in various graft probes – including the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU’s) investigation into R300 million’s worth of dodgy personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders – and her death sent shockwaves across the nation.

Two months ago, she was one of four South Africans honoured at the 2021 international Blueprint Whistleblowing Awards.

Police swooped on alleged hitmen Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Phinda Ndlovu, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Simphiwe Mazibuko and Sanele Mbhele less than a week later. They were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition and attempted murder.

They made various confessions and admissions after they were arrested – including that they were apparently acting at the behest of former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize – but have since claimed they were tortured and were lying.

Mkhize has also since vehemently denied any involvement.