Seven suspects will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the murder of senior Gauteng Health Department official, Babita Deokaran.
Fifty-three-year-old Deokaran was gunned down outside her home in Winchester Hills, Johannesburg, on Monday last week shortly after dropping her daughter at school.
At the time of her murder, Deokaran was assisting with investigations into a personal protective equipment tender scandal that has rocked the department.
She was a key witness in the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the R300-million tender fraud in the department. The suspects were arrested at hideouts in Johannesburg. Police recovered two firearms and two vehicles.
SIU welcomes arrests in Babita Deokaran murder case:
The Special Investigating Unit says Deokaran was a witness in one of the unit’s investigations into corruption in the awarding of tenders for personal protective equipment.
Charges relating to financial misconduct regarding the awarding of PPE contracts in the City of Johannesburg are expected to be served against two senior managers of the city’s property management entity.
The SIU found irregularities in the awarding of contracts to four companies that had been appointed by the Johannesburg Property Company to render emergency deep cleaning and sanitizing services at the Joburg Metro Centre and taxi ranks last year.
The irregular procurement is said to have cost the City of Johannesburg over R18 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
