The killing of whistleblowers and human rights defenders in South Africa has sparked public debate over the protection of those who expose corruption. Five years have passed since Babita Deokaran was killed outside her home in Johannesburg. While the hitmen who carried out her killing have been convicted and sentenced, those who ordered it remain free. Deokaran's death in August 2021 is part of a documented pattern of intimidation and lethal violence against those who expose corruption and defend human rights in South Africa.
The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture recommended that whistleblower legislation be strengthened in its 2022 report. However, little has changed. In 2023, the Department of Justice issued a discussion document proposing reforms for South Africa's whistleblower protection regime. Despite submissions from organisations like Amnesty International South Africa, it took three years for the draft Protected Disclosures Bill to be released for public comment in April 2026.
The Protected Disclosures Bill is currently before Parliament and represents an opportunity to strengthen protections. Amnesty International South Africa has engaged with this process, making a submission and continuing to advocate for a Bill that offers meaningful, enforceable protection. The submission highlights key concerns and recommendations to strengthen whistleblower protections, including a clearer human rights framing, mandatory risk assessments, and consistent penalties for intimidation and harassment.
Whistleblowers and related persons, including their family members, who are subject to retaliation should be able to access comprehensive and effective remedies, financial and otherwise. Human rights defenders, including community organisers, journalists, lawyers, and activists, face unique risks and require legal protection. The most corrosive element of the threats, attacks, and killings of human rights defenders is not only the violence itself but the impunity that follows.
The consequences of not protecting whistleblowers and human rights defenders extend far beyond individual cases. Corruption diverts resources from clinics, schools, and municipal services. Each killing or silencing of a person who seeks to interrupt that diversion deepens the cost suffered by communities across the country. This is why the government must finalise and enact the amendments to the Protected Disclosures Bill.
South Africa currently does not have a legal definition of human rights defenders and therefore has no dedicated protection policy or legislation. While whistleblowers are a category of human rights defenders, others, such as environmental activists, land activists, and community organisers, do not fall under the Protected Disclosures Bill. These defenders face unique, heightened risks and require established mechanisms to prevent and respond to attacks, threats, and killings.
In the meantime, the killings continue, and the legislative framework remains incomplete. Commemoration, on its own, is not a response. What is required is political commitment, legislation that protects, institutions that act, and accountability that reaches those who profit from corruption as well as those who pull the trigger. People who tell the truth about corruption are not collateral damage; they are essential to the fulfilment of the rights established in the Constitution.
Key points
- The South African government must finalise and enact the amendments to the Protected Disclosures Bill to ensure that it is robust, adequately resourced, and capable of implementation.
- A clearer human rights framing, mandatory risk assessments, and consistent penalties for intimidation and harassment are essential to strengthen whistleblower protections.
- South Africa needs to establish a legal definition of human rights defenders and dedicated protection policy or legislation to address the unique risks they face.
