- The DA has called for the immediate suspension of Gauteng health department CFO Lerato Madyo.
- This follows a News24 investigation, which revealed that Babita Deokaran flagged nearly R850m in suspicious transactions at Tembisa Hospital.
- A payment to ANC Ekurhuleni treasurer Sello Sekhokho was one of the first to appear on her radar, three weeks before she was assassinated.
The DA in Gauteng has called for the immediate suspension of provincial health department CFO Lerato Madyo, following a News24 exposé which revealed that she had authorised "dubious" payments to a politically connected businessman.
SPECIAL PROJECT: SILENCED | Why Babita Deokaran was murdered
Gauteng DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom called for a thorough investigation, and for Madyo to be placed on leave.
"The massive scandal uncovered by the News24 investigation needs to be thoroughly investigated. This requires the first step of suspending Madyo so that evidence will not be tampered with," Bloom said.
News24 reported earlier that corruption whistleblower Babita Deokaran had tried to stop R100 million in "possibly fraudulent" payments and flagged other transactions valued at R850 million out of Tembisa Hospital. Three weeks before Deokaran was assassinated outside her home, she reported the anomalous spending to Madyo and called for a forensic investigation.
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According to a trove of 60 000 emails obtained by News24's investigations team, Madyo had overruled her and specifically insisted that Ekurhuleni ANC leader Sello Sekhokho be paid.
Sekhokho, through three little-known companies he controls, scored contracts valued at R2.3 million to provide medical supplies and equipment. He has denied wrongdoing.
Instead of a forensic investigation, the health department embarked on a randomised compliance audit. Ten months since Deokaran's murder, her concerns about Tembisa Hospital have never been fully probed.
Sekhokho, through three little known companies he controls, scored contracts to provide medical supplies and equipment. He has denied wrongdoing.
"The investigation by News24 indicates that the total fishy payments by Tembisa Hospital could be as high as R850 million, and Deokaran was concerned for her life after uncovering them," Bloom said in a statement.
"Lerato Madyo was the acting CFO last year and was recently appointed as permanent CFO despite a poor record with late payments to suppliers. I will be asking questions in the Gauteng Legislature about an apparent cover-up of the Tembisa Hospital payments, and what is being done to investigate their possible link to Deokaran's murder," he added.
On Monday, community activist Elias Muller wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling on him to authorise a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into the buying patterns of the hospital.
"Deokaran's reports should be used as a starting point for a detailed investigation, not the so-called broad audit that was done by the provincial Department of Health. She died doing the right thing for the country, even though she knew that she was putting her own life in danger. Even that did not make her to turn a blind eye into transactions that she believed needed to be properly scrutinised," he added.