Babita Deokaran murder trial on ice yet again as illness prolongs family’s long wait for justice

Whistleblower Babita Deokaran, a Gauteng Health Department official, was gunned down outside her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg, in 2021 after exposing corruption. (Photo: Facebook)

By Michelle Banda

17 Jul 2023

It is almost 24 months since Gauteng health department official Babita Deokaran was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home. Her family and the State believe she was silenced for blowing the whistle on corruption within the department and was in the process of exposing illicit activity to the tune of R1-billion in contracts at Tembisa Hospital. However, the trial of the six men charged with Deokaran’s murder, set to resume on Monday, has been postponed, again.

In the latest on Babita Deokaran’s murder trial, the six men who have been charged with the crime appeared briefly in the Johannesburg high court on Monday 17 July.

However, Judge Motsamai Makume postponed proceedings to 7 August because one of the defence lawyers was allegedly sick and the legal teams required additional time to consult the accused.

The trial was previously delayed in 2022 after the previous legal team representing the six accused, headed by Shafique Sarlie, withdrew from the case citing “financial constraints of the accused and their respective family and friends”.

Read more in Daily Maverick: A year after Babita Deokaran’s assassination, trial of six accused gets off to slow start

The case returned to court on 18 November 2022 and the court had directed the defence to explain who would be representing who at the next court appearance.

On 18 November 2022, three new defence counsels were introduced to the Johannesburg high court for the defence of the six accused: Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe and Siphiwe Thabane Mazibuko.

The six are facing charges of murder, attempted murder and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The count of attempted murder relates to a person who was in Deokoran’s car at the time of the shooting.

Babita Deokaran, Civil Society Watch On Monday 23 August, 2021, Babita Deokaran, a Gauteng Health Department Official, was gunned down outside her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg just after 8:00 in the morning. (Photo: Facebook)

Although the Hawks previously insisted more arrests were imminent after the six accused made their first court appearance almost two years later, the six men remain the only suspects before court. The alleged mastermind behind the assassination has not yet been identified.

The Babita Deokaran murder case was to be heard on 17 July 2023 and set for four months.

Commenting on the postponement, Outa’s Ali Gule says they are worried that the Deokaran case was dragging on, like the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.

“Eventually maybe justice will be served but for now it is a concern that there are glitches regarding the start of the case. We don’t know what the issue is. We are going to use Babita’s case as part of our campaign to promote and protect whistle-blowers in the country. Remember Babita was a single mom. She left a 17-year-old who is now in matric. I don’t think she is in a good space. But the family needs closure and we need justice for Babita as well.”

Gule’s comments were against the backdrop of Outa holding a march outside the Johannesburg high court on Monday calling on the government to support the Deokaran family and also speed up the case.

The six men remain in custody with no bail.

Tony Haripersad, the family’s spokesperson and Deokaran’s brother-in-law, said: “Case has been postponed again. Cause of delay is what we know from the media. As a family we are concerned and unhappy about the delays and if we will ever receive any sense of closure. Unfortunately there is no support from the government at all. Not even to check how her child is doing.” DM

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