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A Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has confirmed what a News24 investigation revealed from July – that the Tembisa Hospital was an extraction network for murderous syndicates, writes the News24 editorial team.
On Tuesday Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed what a News24 investigation revealed from July – that the Tembisa Hospital was an extraction network for murderous syndicates.
Lesufi briefed the public on an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into allegations of large-scale corruption and fraud at the provincial department of health, focusing on the Ekurhuleni hospital.
The SIU's probe followed News24's revelations of health department official Babita Deokaran's futile efforts to expose corruption at Tembisa Hospital. Before she could expose her findings, Deokaran was shot dead.
News24's investigation was triggered by months of inaction from authorities tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding her murder. To date, the only arrests made have been of the gunmen who were hired to cut her life short.
The kingpins behind her murder are still at large.
What the SIU found is another clear example of the cancer that institutionalised corruption in the public sector has become: the unashamed, organised and systematic extraction of public resources for personal enrichment. According to the SIU, four syndicates – two of which involved family networks – controlled more than 200 companies, raking in more than R1 billion.
The SIU's investigation will now be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) with a view to prosecute those identified by the investigation.
READ | Silenced: Why Babita Deokaran was murdered
Also yesterday, the Hawks raided the Tembisa Hospital, the facility at the centre of the extraction network at the department. The latest developments are welcome and signal a step forward in the urgent fight against corruption. Tragically, it is too late for Deokaran to see the fruit of her thankless work coming to fruition.
South Africans need to see justice done and accountability exacted.
The SIU investigation was based on, and prompted by, an investigation by Deokaran, and carried on after her murder by News24's investigations team, led by reporter Jeff Wicks. Our reporting reveals that there still are committed and honest civil servants who do the right thing – and affirms the role of a resilient and relentless free press.
The media's role is to keep those who have political, economic, and social power in check. It is the job of journalists to ask the hard questions and keep on chipping away when lies and obfuscation abound. At News24 we take this role seriously.
Deokaran, and many like her, deserve nothing less.
