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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thursday, 24 August, will mark the second anniversary of the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who was chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng Department of Health. She was fatally shot outside her home in south Johannesburg.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both her family and the State believe that her murder was a direct consequence of her decision to expose alleged corruption within the department, notably involving R1-billion in irregular tenders at the Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has made headway in its probe into the tenders, but the trial of Deokaran’s alleged killers was postponed again on Tuesday, 15 August. The trial has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, 22 August, mere days before a planned commemoration of her assassination.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The postponement in the murder case was attributed to the need to finalise negotiations between the prosecution and the defence, as stipulated by section 105(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State prosecutor Steven Reuben said: “There are [a] ‘few issues’ that need to be resolved before the trial can resume.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the second consecutive week that the trial has been postponed, prolonging the family’s wait for justice.</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-07-17-babita-deokaran-murder-trial-on-ice-yet-again-as-illness-prolongs-familys-long-wait-for-justice/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Babita Deokaran murder trial on ice yet again as illness prolongs family’s long wait for justice</span></a>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1808377\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/michelle-babita-casestarts.jpg\" alt=\"siu babita\" width=\"720\" height=\"426\" /> <em>The six accused, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla appear at Johannesburg High Court during the Babita Deokaran murder trial on 17 July 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The six accused – Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe and Siphiwe Thabane Mazibuko – remain in custody.</span>\r\n<h4><b>SIU targets implicated officials</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following Deokaran’s assassination, individuals implicated in the alleged tender irregularities at Tembisa Hospital continued to operate without hindrance. An SIU report released in 2022 implicated nine officials in irregular payments at the hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-13-hawks-swoop-on-tembisa-hospital-at-same-time-investigation-confirms-the-slain-babita-deokaran-was-right/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hawks swoop on Tembisa Hospital at same time investigation confirms the slain Babita Deokaran was right</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) </span><a href=\"https://www.siu.org.za/siu-welcomes-action-taken-against-tembisa-hospital-officials/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">finally suspended six of those nine officials last week</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi made this announcement during an oral response to questions posed in the Gauteng legislature by the Gauteng DA’s shadow health MEC Jack Bloom.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The suspended officials include administration clerk Duduzile Nobugwana, director of supply chain LH Mojela, physiotherapist Vuyani Chako, chief physiotherapist MA Maphumulo, financial clerk NL Kobe and assistant manager of nursing DE Monnakgotla.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three additional officials implicated are financial clerk Puleng Mtuze, food service manager Vuyikazi Mtwezi and medical officer Dr Radulescu. A number of the officials have retired or resigned since the SIU report was released.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The GDoH last week added: “The processes pertaining to the disciplinary case involving the suspended GDoH chief financial officer and Tembisa Hospital chief executive officer are under way and handled from the Office of the Premier. The two officials have since been charged.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recent suspensions follow calls from </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-08-06-civil-society-launches-justiceforbabita-petition-reflects-on-1956-womens-march/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">civil society</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to take action against officials implicated in the alleged corruption. A number of civil society groups recently filed a </span><a href=\"https://www.change.org/p/suspend-the-9-officials-and-200-companies-implicated-in-gautenghealth-corruption-identified-by-rsasiu-in-dec-2022-justiceforbabitadoekaran-healthza-gautengprovince\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">petition</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to demand action against the individuals and companies identified by the SIU as complicit in corruption relating to Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following its investigation, the SIU asked for a proclamation to further investigate supply chain management at the hospital. President Cyril Ramaphosa last week </span><a href=\"https://www.news24.com/news24/investigations/silenced-ramaphosa-unleashes-siu-in-r1bn-tembisa-hospital-scandal-20230815-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">authorised</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the SIU to continue investigating the R1-billion in irregular tenders.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">News24</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> quoted Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya as saying, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The SIU will commence with the investigation now. They’ve already started…”</span>\r\n<h4><b>Presidential proclamation welcomed </b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gauteng DA has welcomed the president’s decision to expand the SIU investigation into the alleged corruption at Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I hope the SIU investigation extends to other hospitals, as the fishy companies that got contracts from Tembisa Hospital got contracts at other hospitals as well. The SIU needs to investigate the corruption networks without fear or favour,” Bloom said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I suspect that rotten officials in the Gauteng Health Department receive high-level political protection, which needs to be exposed and ended. The delay in signing the proclamation is unfortunate. We need to see speedy justice for the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who tried to stop the suspicious payments at Tembisa Hospital.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/HelenSuzmanFdn/status/1691340599234789376?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">memorial</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is scheduled for Wednesday, 23 August at the Mondeor recreation centre, to mark the second anniversary of Deokaran’s assassination. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thursday, 24 August, will mark the second anniversary of the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who was chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng Department of Health. She was fatally shot outside her home in south Johannesburg.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both her family and the State believe that her murder was a direct consequence of her decision to expose alleged corruption within the department, notably involving R1-billion in irregular tenders at the Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has made headway in its probe into the tenders, but the trial of Deokaran’s alleged killers was postponed again on Tuesday, 15 August. The trial has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, 22 August, mere days before a planned commemoration of her assassination.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The postponement in the murder case was attributed to the need to finalise negotiations between the prosecution and the defence, as stipulated by section 105(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State prosecutor Steven Reuben said: “There are [a] ‘few issues’ that need to be resolved before the trial can resume.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the second consecutive week that the trial has been postponed, prolonging the family’s wait for justice.</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-07-17-babita-deokaran-murder-trial-on-ice-yet-again-as-illness-prolongs-familys-long-wait-for-justice/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Babita Deokaran murder trial on ice yet again as illness prolongs family’s long wait for justice</span></a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1808377\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1808377\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/michelle-babita-casestarts.jpg\" alt=\"siu babita\" width=\"720\" height=\"426\" /> <em>The six accused, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla appear at Johannesburg High Court during the Babita Deokaran murder trial on 17 July 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The six accused – Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe and Siphiwe Thabane Mazibuko – remain in custody.</span>\r\n<h4><b>SIU targets implicated officials</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following Deokaran’s assassination, individuals implicated in the alleged tender irregularities at Tembisa Hospital continued to operate without hindrance. An SIU report released in 2022 implicated nine officials in irregular payments at the hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-13-hawks-swoop-on-tembisa-hospital-at-same-time-investigation-confirms-the-slain-babita-deokaran-was-right/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hawks swoop on Tembisa Hospital at same time investigation confirms the slain Babita Deokaran was right</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) </span><a href=\"https://www.siu.org.za/siu-welcomes-action-taken-against-tembisa-hospital-officials/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">finally suspended six of those nine officials last week</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi made this announcement during an oral response to questions posed in the Gauteng legislature by the Gauteng DA’s shadow health MEC Jack Bloom.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The suspended officials include administration clerk Duduzile Nobugwana, director of supply chain LH Mojela, physiotherapist Vuyani Chako, chief physiotherapist MA Maphumulo, financial clerk NL Kobe and assistant manager of nursing DE Monnakgotla.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three additional officials implicated are financial clerk Puleng Mtuze, food service manager Vuyikazi Mtwezi and medical officer Dr Radulescu. A number of the officials have retired or resigned since the SIU report was released.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The GDoH last week added: “The processes pertaining to the disciplinary case involving the suspended GDoH chief financial officer and Tembisa Hospital chief executive officer are under way and handled from the Office of the Premier. The two officials have since been charged.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recent suspensions follow calls from </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-08-06-civil-society-launches-justiceforbabita-petition-reflects-on-1956-womens-march/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">civil society</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to take action against officials implicated in the alleged corruption. A number of civil society groups recently filed a </span><a href=\"https://www.change.org/p/suspend-the-9-officials-and-200-companies-implicated-in-gautenghealth-corruption-identified-by-rsasiu-in-dec-2022-justiceforbabitadoekaran-healthza-gautengprovince\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">petition</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to demand action against the individuals and companies identified by the SIU as complicit in corruption relating to Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following its investigation, the SIU asked for a proclamation to further investigate supply chain management at the hospital. President Cyril Ramaphosa last week </span><a href=\"https://www.news24.com/news24/investigations/silenced-ramaphosa-unleashes-siu-in-r1bn-tembisa-hospital-scandal-20230815-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">authorised</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the SIU to continue investigating the R1-billion in irregular tenders.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">News24</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> quoted Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya as saying, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The SIU will commence with the investigation now. They’ve already started…”</span>\r\n<h4><b>Presidential proclamation welcomed </b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gauteng DA has welcomed the president’s decision to expand the SIU investigation into the alleged corruption at Tembisa Hospital.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I hope the SIU investigation extends to other hospitals, as the fishy companies that got contracts from Tembisa Hospital got contracts at other hospitals as well. The SIU needs to investigate the corruption networks without fear or favour,” Bloom said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I suspect that rotten officials in the Gauteng Health Department receive high-level political protection, which needs to be exposed and ended. The delay in signing the proclamation is unfortunate. We need to see speedy justice for the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who tried to stop the suspicious payments at Tembisa Hospital.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/HelenSuzmanFdn/status/1691340599234789376?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">memorial</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is scheduled for Wednesday, 23 August at the Mondeor recreation centre, to mark the second anniversary of Deokaran’s assassination. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"summary": "President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Special Investigating Unit to continue probing the R1bn in irregular tenders at Tembisa Hospital that Babita Deokaran helped uncover before she was assassinated. The case against her alleged murderers, however, has been repeatedly postponed.",
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"social_description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thursday, 24 August, will mark the second anniversary of the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who was chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng Dep",
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The six accused, Nhlangane Phinda Ndlovu, Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla appear at Johannesburg High Court during the Babita Deokaran murder trial on 17 July 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)