The significance of the recent murder of yet another whistle-blower, Marius van der Merwe, just days before the world commemorated International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) on 9 December is not lost on ordinary South Africans. Van der Merwe testified in camera before the Madlanga commission several weeks ago, where he was only identified as Witness D.
His death was one of the issues talked about during a community engagement organised by the Bizana Legal Advice Centre, one of the community organisations that are part of the Strengthening Action Against Corruption (SAAC) project. SAAC was launched by Corruption Watch, the Social Change Assistance Trust, and Transparency International last year.
Bongani Mbokwana, a project coordinator for the centre, says the event was a success, despite a low turnout. “The idea from the start was for us to relay the message of working against corruption at community level to a few, and for those present to tell others and so on,” he explains. “What is important is that we get the conversation going.”
The inspiration to have a gathering, he adds, came from the commitment shown by the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality, which has consistently supported the centre’s various efforts undertaken under SAAC. While the relationship is built on the understanding that the municipality must be accountable to the community which it serves, it has also been motivating to see that the community has developed an interest in learning how things work in the municipality.
Whistle-blower safety a priority
The 9 December event overtook what was initially intended to be an event to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse national programme which was cancelled several days prior. Mbokwana thought since the invite to the community was already sent out, there would be no harm in keeping the slot and changing only the focus of the event to address the topic of corruption.
“The attendees discussed the Witness D issue at length, highlighting the lack of safety for whistle-blowers in South Africa. Their concern was the lack of clarity regarding who should be accountable for the safety of witnesses in criminal cases as well as whistle-blowers against corruption.”
Another topic of interest for those present was that of apparent corruption in the judiciary, particularly in relation to the integrity of public prosecutors.
“Attendees brought up the issue of prosecutors seemingly being lenient to powerful or connected accused in criminal matters,’ Mbokwana said, adding that it fuels the distrust from communities when individuals known to engage in dangerous criminal activities are arrested in public, only to be seen walking the streets just days later and intimidating witnesses.
Admitting that the concerns raised were of a higher magnitude than a local community centre could reasonably be expected to address, Mbokwana said the message he shared with the community is that for South Africa to have the accountable criminal justice system that we all wish for, all of society must get involved.
