WATCH | Babita Deokaran memorial statue unveiled as family recalls her sacrifice

For Babita Deokaran’s family, the lasting measure of her courage is not the memorial now standing in her honour but the people she was trying to protect when she exposed corruption at Tembisa Hospital. “She believed that public service was just that – service to the public. She was fighting for people she was probably never going to meet one day,” Deokaran’s niece, Krishna Ramlal, said on Sunday.

It was a deeply personal reflection on the Durban-born whistleblower as hundreds of family members, friends, civil society representatives, government leaders and members of the public gathered in Mount Edgecombe for the unveiling of a memorial statue in her honour. Deokaran was assassinated outside her Johannesburg home in August 2021 after uncovering evidence of widespread corruption and procurement irregularities at Tembisa Hospital while carrying out her duties as chief financial officer of the Gauteng Department of Health. The memorial was unveiled at the historic Shri Mariammen Temple Heritage Site, near the community where Deokaran grew up.

For her family, however, Deokaran was a woman who did not seek attention or acclaim. Ramlal said the family was proud that Deokaran had sacrificed her life while trying to ensure government money was used to provide healthcare to people rather than enrich a corrupt few. While the monument was a source of pride, she said Deokaran herself would not have expected to be honoured for something she regarded simply as part of her responsibility.

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She was a simple person who never believed in being the centre of attention. After flagging corrupt practices at Tembisa Hospital, Deokaran shared her findings with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

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