'Hitmen' plead guilty to murdering whistle-blower Babita Deokaran

22 August 2023 - 11:33
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Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Phakanyiswa Dladla in court in connection with the murder of Babita Deokaran.
Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Phakanyiswa Dladla in court in connection with the murder of Babita Deokaran.
Image: Thulani Mbele

Six men on Tuesday admitted murdering corruption whistle-blower Babita Deokaran , after a plea deal was struck with the prosecution in the high court in Johannesburg.

The finance official in the Gauteng health department, a single mother, was shot at her home after dropping her child at school in the south of Johannesburg in August 2021.

TimesLIVE previously reported that Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Phakanyiswa Dladla, who hail from KwaZulu-Natal, were alleged to have spent a month in Gauteng following Deokaran before the killing.

Dladla has also pleaded guilty to two charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

This is a developing story

TimesLIVE


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