Justice minister Kubayi faces backlash after blaming media for Madlanga commission witness killing

Justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has faced backlash after her comments regarding the motive behind the killing of Marius van der Merwe, a witness at the Madlanga commission of inquiry.

Van der Merwe, a whistle-blower and former Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) officer, was murdered outside his home on December 5, shortly after his testimony at the commission.

Briefing the media at the weekend, Kubayi suggested the live broadcast of Van der Merwe’s testimony could have led to his fatal attack, despite his identity not being disclosed to the public at the time of the broadcast.

“I do fear for the witnesses,” she said.

“The reason initially for the proposal that there must be in-camera testimony was informed by the fact there would be risks, and we needed to ensure the risks are extremely minimised.

“If you talk to people who work closely with those who come forward as whistle-blowers, they would tell you sometimes because of a person narrating the story publicly, the person involved would know who that person is.”

Kubayi suggested the best way to protect witnesses is to end public broadcasting of the proceedings.

“I know we are going to fight with the media, but sometimes it’s necessary, and this is what I’ve asked the Madlanga commission to do, to say let’s review. We agreed because initially that’s what they wanted to do.

“This is what they have to do, otherwise we will have a commission that doesn’t have people coming forward to testify because they fear for their lives.”

Van der Merwe’s identity wasn’t known when he appeared before the Madlanga commission. He was referred to as “Witness D”. However, his voice was not disguised.

Kubayi expressed concern that the public knew Witness D who had been fatally shot before it was officially announced.

“It’s extremely worrying that media and social media were running that Witness D has been killed. How did they know this person was Witness D? Could be that someone who heard him testify knew about the incident?”

Kubayi faced an immediate backlash for her assertion, with critics on social media arguing whistle-blowers are not only killed because they appeared on a public platform. They made reference to other witnesses who have been assassinated for exposing corruption without testifying in public, such as Babita Deokaran.

Deokaran, acting chief financial officer at the Gauteng department of health, was assassinated in August 2021 outside her home after dropping her daughter at school. Her murder followed her uncovering extensive corruption within her department.

Others argued the lack of protection for witnesses is the core problem, not the fault of an open and transparent inquiry.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont slammed Kubayi’s suggestion that public testimonies lead to the killing of whistle-blowers.

“This is absolutely pathetic from a justice minister,” Beaumont said on X.

“It is not members of the public who kill whistle-blowers and witnesses, it’s politically connected thugs who operate with impunity and don’t need a TV set to know when their interests are threatened.”

Veteran broadcaster Redi Tlhabi questioned other murdered whistle-blowers who had broadcast their evidence, emphasising her concern about the minister’s reaction.

“These knee-jerk, superficial reactions to complex and deep-rooted issues are not helpful,” Tlhabi said on X.

“When they come from leaders, they are even more dispiriting because it means their grasp of the problem is fundamentally flawed. Therefore, their solutions will be equally flawed.”

Kubayi defended her comments, saying there was no knee-jerk reaction from her side.

“There was a reason why the commission wanted in-camera testimony. They understood the risk and wanted to avoid it. We must review the process so the list of killed whistle-blowers doesn’t increase.

“I’m duty-bound to reflect when such instances happen and review the process. I am a patriotic South African.”

Here are more reactions from X:

TimesLIVE