Whistleblower Babita Deokaran’s case handed over to independent investigator

The Gauteng provincial government has announced that it was finalising the process of appointing an independent forensic investigator to look into allegations pertaining to the case of slain Babita Deokaran.

Deokaran held the position of Chief Director: Financial Accounting in the Department of Health and was a key witness in the investigation by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) for corruption and fraud in the  procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) for Gauteng.

She was the gunned down in her driveway in August 2021.

“The Gauteng Provincial Government is treating this matter in a very serious light and, consequently, the  Office of the Premier is finalising the process of appointing an Independent Forensic Investigator to investigate the allegations that have surfaced relating to the case,” said Premier of Gauteng Makhura.

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The provincial government also revealed in a statement that outstanding labour matters relating to officials implicated in the case have been directed to the Head of Department (HoD) of Health, Gauteng, to deal with them as per the Public Service Act (PSA) and Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

 “While we are committed in ensuring that decisive action is taken against public servants that have been found to have failed in discharging their responsibilities in line with the PFMA, we need to ensure that our actions are in line with the PSA and other applicable prescripts,” said Makhura.

The premier also highlighted that because the matter is still under investigation, members of the media need to allow law enforcement agencies to do their efficiently work. 

“The provincial government continues to strengthen control systems to prevent fraud and corruption whilst improving its capacity to detect, investigate and take appropriate action including instituting disciplinary action against staff, referring matters for criminal  investigation,  and  initiating  processes  to  recover  losses incurred by the state.”