SIU reports a major breakthrough in Thembisa Hospital PPE Tender Corruption Scandal

By Alicia Mmashakana

Three years have passed since whistleblower Babita Deokaran, a senior manager in the Gauteng Health Department, died in a hail of bullets outside her home in Winchester Hills, Johannesburg.

Deokaran was working on an investigation into a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) tender irregularities worth R332 million during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she was murdered and she was also one of several witnesses assisting the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in its probe.

However, Deokaran’s efforts were not vain. On Thursday the SIU reported that they have expanded the scope of their probe, to include 5,500 transactions worth up to R3 billion.

The amount represents a 250% increase over the R850 million in possibly fraudulent transactions Deokaran had flagged and reported three weeks before her death.

Head of the Special Investigating Unit, Andy Mothibi said: “The investigating team gave me an update about 5 314 purchase orders that were