Archbishop Thabo Makgoba speaks in defence of whistleblowers

The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has weighed in on the recent murders of corruption whistleblowers in South Africa.
 
Makgoba made his remarks during his Easter sermon at the Cathedral of St George in Cape Town over the weekend.
 
Several whistleblowers who exposed corruption have been killed in recent years.
 
High-profile cases include Babita Deokaran, Marius van der Merwe, and Marumo Eric Phenya.
 
Deokaran, a senior Gauteng Health official, was shot dead in 2021 outside her Johannesburg home after uncovering an R850 million Tembisa Hospital tender fraud.
 
Van der Merwe, known as "Witness D" during his testimony at the Madlanga Commission probing police corruption, was gunned down at his home in December last year.
 
Phenya, a businessman and whistleblower, was assassinated in October 2022 in Roodepoort after exposing multi-million-rand tender corruption at the Department of Home Affairs.
 
Archbishop Makgoba said it is almost surprising not to read about a new corruption scandal every day involving individuals who exploit politics for personal gain.
 
 
"Whistleblowers, witnesses and professionals such as lawyers are assassinated in brazen attempts to escape the consequences of taking bribes from tenderpreneurs."
 
He added that a culture of unstoppable violence appears to have taken hold in the country.