The six men accused of killing corruption whistleblower Babita Deokaran spent at least two days scouting her suburb before she was ambushed outside her Johannesburg home.
This is contained in an indictment before court in which the state has indicted the men, aged between 26 and 31, on charges of murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla — who are on trial for the murder of Deokaran — appeared in the Johannesburg regional court on Tuesday and their case will now move to the high court.
In the indictment, the state alleges that the men had “scouted the suburb” of Winchester Hill, south of Johannesburg, on August 18 and 20 last year, in a BMW sedan and two VW Polos.
The state alleges that Deokaran was followed unawares from the Columbine Square Shopping Centre shortly after 8am to her home by the accused. She was returning home from dropping off her 16-year-old daughter at school.
Deokaran, 53, had stopped to pick up her domestic helper when one of the two vehicles trailing her stopped alongside her vehicle.
“While the deceased’s motor vehicle was stationary, the aforementioned white BMW driven by (Mbhele) [and] occupied by at least (Dladla) and (Radebe) came to a halt… while the remaining accused lay in wait in the vicinity of the deceased’s residential premises,” the indictment states.
Deokaran was shot several times outside her home on August 23. She succumbed to her bullet wounds at Union Hospital in Alberton.
She had been instrumental in blowing the whistle on alleged corruption regarding the Gauteng health department’s procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment.
The indictment also indicates that the pretrial hearing will take place on June 22 and that 50 witnesses, mostly SAPS employees, have been lined up to testify.
The state also indicated that it was currently unaware of details surrounding the planning of Deokaran’s murder.
Deokaran was chief director of financial accounting in the department and was known for her strong stance against corruption and those close to her believe her murder was a hit.
Her death led to intensified calls for more protection of whistleblowers as her killing came hot on the heels of the death of Gauteng human settlements official Teboho Makhoa, who also died in a hail of bullets in June.
Makhoa is believed to have been killed for his stance against housing corruption.