Whistleblower awards | Honouring the courageous heroes

JOHANNESBURG - Earlier this week, Public Interest SA honoured courageous people at the inaugural Whistleblowers Awards.

Slain whistleblowers Babita Deokaran, Marumo Phenya and Jimmy Mohlala were honoured posthumously with the Fallen Heroes of Integrity Award.

READ: Whistleblower House still demanding justice for Babita Deokaran

Deokaran was gunned down outside her home after flagging hundreds of millions of rand in dodgy at the Gauteng Health Department.

Mohlala was also killed outside his home when he was due to lay criminal charges related to dodgy tender deals for the R1.2-billion Mbombela Stadium under construction for the 2010 World Cup.

READ: Whistle-blowers in SA are treated as pariahs in spite of their moral courage

And last year, Phenya was gunned down in his car in Roodepoort after blowing the lid on a dodgy R119-million tender at the Department of Home Affairs.

The awards aim to inspire others and ensure legal frameworks are in place to protect these heroes.

* eNCA's Theodor Mashele reports.