Thinking of blowing the whistle? Read this first

By Kwazi Dlamini British philosopher John Stuart Mill once said, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” In South Africa in the recent past, corruption and dishonest individuals have thrived under the unobservant eye of their peers, while those who are watchful of Read more >

How the Fishrot scandal robbed Namibia of millions

Image: WikiLeaks In part one of our Fishrot Files mini-series we read about the experiences of whistle-blower Jóhannes Stefánsson, the former MD of the Namibian branch of Icelandic fishing company Samherji. After Stefánsson’s 2016 departure from the company, he handed over a cache of 30 000 revealing documents to Al Jazeera and WikiLeaks. The latter Read more >

Fishrot whistle-blower did it despite the risks

In 2014 the stench of corruption began to rise from the operations of Icelandic fishing company Samherji in Namibia, and its former MD Jóhannes Stefánsson noticed. Two years later, he left his job to expose an extensive cash-for-quota scandal through a trove of 30 000 documents and e-mail correspondence handed over to WikiLeaks, who made Read more >

CW report shows whistle-blower increase during Covid-19

The 2020 edition of Corruption Watch’s Analysis of Corruption Trends (ACT) report, released today, demonstrates growing concerns about corruption levels in South Africa. The report also illustrates that the will of the public to expose the corrupt and seek consequences remains strong even during the pandemic. Almost 2 000 people took the step of blowing Read more >

Reflecting on the bravery of whistle-blowers

By Thato Mahlangu Justice for some whistle-blowers seems like an unlikely dream. As we marked World Whistle-blower Day on 23 June 2020, one of our own is in pain in a hospital, in the Eastern Cape, after suffering years of abuse at the hands of police while fighting for genuine concerns which have been raised Read more >

Vulnerable voices silenced by mining companies

By Thato Mahlangu Mining-affected communities are among the most vulnerable in our country. As part of its work in the mining sector, Corruption Watch (CW) recently visited three affected communities in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. Our visits highlighted the particular vulnerabilities these people live with daily. The CW team, with Mining Affected Communities United in Action, held Read more >

CW responds to Eskom’s whistle-blowing statement

On 19 March 2020, the Eskom board issued a media statement titled Eskom board statement on allegations against the COO, citing the Eskom employee who raised the allegations and has submitted an affidavit to the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture. The entire Eskom board statement is attached at the end of this document.    From Corruption Watch’s (CW) analysis of the information at Read more >

Are our whistle-blowers adequately protected?

Part one of our mini-series on South African laws that protect whistle-blowers focused mainly on the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) – our main piece of legislation – and the key ways that it differs from international best practice. In part two we examine how the actual procedures for making a disclosure measure up. Once the Read more >