In a statement Tuesday, Human Right Watch (HRW) called on South Africa to adequately protect the country’s whistleblowers and pressured authorities to conduct effective and impartial investigations to properly provide justice for the victims and their families.
In his State of the Nation Address on February 12, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, “We cannot accept that those who speak out against corruption are victimized and targeted.” Reiterating existing promises, the president spoke of the commitment to introduce a new “Whistle-blower Protection Bill.” This bill has not yet been past, with no set passage date.
The proposed bill would offer compensation for any financial loss due to whistleblowing, as well as criminalizing threats against whistleblowers. Currently, the primary legislative protection for South African whistleblowers is the Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000. The legislation aims to protect employees in public and private sectors from “occupational detriment” resulting from disclosing an employers wrong doing in “good faith.” The proposed bill would significantly strengthen these current protections.
Under the current legislative scheme, two South African whistleblowers–Mpho Mafole and Marius Van Der Merwe–were killed in 2025.
Mafole was a municipal forensic auditor and group divisional head for corporate and forensic audits for the city of Ekurhuleni. Over the course of his work, he flagged irregularities in a 1.8 billion rand (approximately US $112.9 million) mobile chemical toilet tender and submitted his findings. Investigative journalists reported that Mafole’s unidentified shooters tracked him when he left his home killed him in a drive-by shooting.
Van Der Merwe was shot by unidentified individuals in front of his family members. He was a former police official who testified in an off-camera hearing before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. Van Der Merwe pointed to allegations of corruption in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.
HRW called on the South African government to crystalize its proposed commitments to whistleblowers, and offer further protections, stating:
South African authorities cannot afford to recycle empty promises because the lives of whistleblowers are at risk, Whistleblowers do not need promises, but specific, measurable, and tangible steps to ensure their safety and end the risk of retaliation and violence said Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.
