National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has rejected suggestions that law enforcement failed to protect slain whistleblower, Babita Deokaran.

She was gunned down in 2021 after exposing alleged tender corruption at Tembisa Hospital, east of Johannesburg.

At the time, Deokaran was serving as acting chief financial officer in the Gauteng Health Department.

Her killing sparked calls for the stronger protection of whistleblowers.

Masemola is appearing before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee which is probing allegations of criminal infiltration, corruption and political interference in the justice system.

He says crime intelligence wasn’t aware that Deokaran was a whistleblower until her assassination.

“No, I don’t believe I failed her. The intelligence, they are doing their work, but of course the intelligence would not know what a whistleblower is going to say. From our side, if there are whistleblowers within the organisation or whoever, we do provide whatever assistance we can do. But currently, in large, there is no real mechanism for protection of whistleblowers. Whistleblowers don’t necessarily mean you must go out in public and say whatever you say, but it means you go to authorities, you inform them of what you know and what is happening because your safety is quite important.”

Babita Deokaran’s family wants assassination mastermind revealed: