Cellphone messages and anonymous phone calls allegedly threatening murdered Gauteng health department corruption buster Babita Deokaran over her blocking of payments for lucrative hospital infrastructure, maintenance and supply contracts, are central to the Hawks investigation into her death.
The bail hearing of the five men arrested in connection with her death starts on Thursday.
Sources with knowledge of investigations by the Hawks and the Gauteng government’s integrity, anti-corruption and ethics team said between July and August Deokaran received increasingly threatening messages.
They said the messages followed several anonymous telephone calls to Deokaran earlier this year.
A Gauteng health department source said among payments Deokaran recently stopped were to a contractor hired to supply new beds to Tembisa Hospital on the East Rand.
A source, who worked with Deokaran, confirmed her flagging of suspicious payment requests to a contractor who was to have supplied new beds to Tembisa hospital.
“There were discrepancies with the invoice submitted by the supplier, forcing the department to withhold the payment. An invoice must be submitted with the proof of delivery and that was not the case with that order. Babita flagged this. She stepped on lots of toes.”
A Hawks source said the threats to Deokaran allegedly began shortly after her return to her position as the department’s chief director for finance in May 2020 and apparently increased when she became acting chief financial officer in August 2020.
In 2018 Deokaran was transferred to Hillbrow Clinic, with sources, who worked closely with her, alleging the move was to stop her from blocking payments to contractors who failed to deliver on hospital infrastructure development projects.
“The investigation is looking into not only the issues she flagged recently, but those going back at least four years.”
Last year Deokaran became a key witness in the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the awarding of R332m worth of Covid-19 personal protective equipment tenders in Gauteng.
On her return to her position in May she uncovered alleged irregularities relating to the procurement of masks, sanitisers and gowns for hospitals.
Her evidence in internal disciplinary hearings led to the suspension and resignation of several officials.
The emergence of the news of threats against Deokaran has left her family demanding answers as to why, if she notified her superiors of the threats, she was given no protection.
Earlier this month the Sunday World reported Deokaran alerted Lerato Madyo, the department’s chief financial officer, to death threats she received in late July and early August.
Responding to detailed questions on the threats, contracts and payments Deokaran had flagged, and Madyo’s requests for a forensic investigation, Gauteng health department spokesperson Kwara Kwena said: “Any issue related to the case is subject to police investigations.”
Another department source said because of Deokaran’s flagging of numerous suspicious payments, she was transferred to Hillbrow Clinic in late 2018.
“Babita was moved after the department took over some of its infrastructure projects from the Gauteng department of infrastructure development.
“The infrastructure [projects] opened doors. A lot of opportunists took advantage. Our scope of work increased and people saw this as an opportunity to make money.”
A separate Hawks source said cyber forensic experts were analysing Deokaran’s electronic devices.
“Information has come to light about certain messages sent telephonically and via different messaging systems. The devices are being analysed to identify the sources. Information is that these may not be the only threats.
“We hope to draw links between to concerns Deokaran raised within the department. We will question people she worked with on the suspicions she flagged.”
Tony Haripersadh, Deokaran’s brother-in-law, said Deokaran had alerted colleagues to the threats.
“It is clear Babita sent messages of the threats. Someone knew [what was happening], yet she was not given protection.
“If her life was threatened, and it was brought to the attention of the people responsible and in position to have given her security, she should have received protection.
“We want to know why she did not.”
Vuyo Mhaga, spokesperson for Gauteng premier David Makhura, said when it came to threats against staff who exposed corruption, the integrity, anti-corruption and ethics team had to be notified.
“This team liaises with police who conduct a threat analysis.”
Mhaga declined to comment on whether the team was alerted to threats against Deokaran.
“That is part of the ongoing investigation.”
Mhaga said “absolutely everything Babita stopped, including the PPE matters, is being looked at”.
Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Philani Nkwalase declined to comment on the investigation.
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