The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has welcomed the arrest of seven people in connection with the killing of Gauteng’s Health Financial Officer, Babita Deokaran.
Police confirm arrest of suspects:
Deokaran died in hospital after she was shot outside her home in Winchester Hills in the south of Johannesburg earlier this week.
She’d just returned after dropping off her child at school. Deokaran was one of the key witnesses in the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the multimillion-rand PPE scandal in Gauteng.
Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neesan Balton, “We hope that not only the people who pulled the triggers will be arrested but also those who instructed them and gave the orders and who paid for it as well. And we look forward to seeing them in court and hope the Prosecuting Authority will be able to prosecute this in a way that leads to their conviction if all the facts are in place as well. ”
The Special Investigating Unit says it hopes the seven men accused of killing Deokaran might help shed more light on the motive for her killing.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago, “As the SIU we’d like to welcome the arrest of the seven men who are linked to the death of Babita Deokaran. We believe that now we will be in a position as the SIU to know what the reasons are for her killing. And we will also continue as we have always done to work with the police and make sure that whatever they need from us is given to them as we have done since the death of Babita.”
Suspects arrest
After receiving information, police conducted a takedown operation at the suspects’ hideouts in Johannesburg. Police spokesperson, Brenda Muridili, says during the arrests, the police recovered two firearms and two vehicles.
“The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla Sitole has welcomed the arrest of seven suspects linked to the murder of an official from the Department of Health on the 23rd of August 2021. The case docket has been transferred to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation for further investigation. There is a possibility of more charges being added to the charge of murder when the suspects appear in court soon.”
