Judgement in the bail application of the six men accused of killing Gauteng Health whistle-blower, Babita Deokaran, has been postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court. Deokaran was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home in August this year.
The senior official at the provincial health department was a key witness in an investigation into tender fraud related to the supply of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE).
The six suspects accused of murdering Deokaran will now have to wait a bit longer for judgement in their bail application to be handed down. This after the matter was postponed due to a water outage at the court.
A date is still yet to be set for their next appearance. During their bail application all six retracted their confessions – alleging it was given under duress.
Prior to retracting their statements, accused number 1, Phakamani Hadebe implicated former health minister, Zweli Mkhize.
Hadebe claimed that he met the minister and a man he identified as Mkhize’s brother at Brits Mall a week before Deokaran was killed.
He then made a U-turn, saying he’d confessed to stop the assault by police.
Family of slain Babita Deokaran wants justice
