Babita Deokaran murder trial moved to Johannesburg High Court

The case of six men accused of murdering Gauteng Health Department whistleblower Babita Deokaran has been referred to Johannesburg’s South Gauteng High Court.

They made a brief appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.

Deokaran was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home in August 2021.

The senior official at the department was a key witness in an investigation into alleged fraud in a tender related to the procurement of personal protective equipment.

The accused, referred to as the Deokaran 6, were all denied bail last year. They retracted their confessions, stating that they had been given under duress.

Accused number 1 also alleged that former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize was part of the plot. He later retracted that during a bail application.

The accused were served with an indictment and the matter was transferred to the South Gauteng High Court for trial. They will return to the dock on July 22.

The video below is reporting that the family of slain Babita Deokaran wants justice: