THE six suspects arrested for the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran have been sentenced after they pleaded guilty to the heinous crime.
But forgiveness from Deokaran's family is far from sight as Babita's brother Rakesh rejected the apology by the hitmen.
He said this when the accused appeared before the Joburg High Court on Tuesday, 22 August.
All this happened a day before the second anniversary of Babita's murder.
The six accused, Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Phinda Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla stood before the court to hear their fate.
Hadebe and Ndlovu were sentenced to 22 years imprisonment for murder, while accused two, Radebe, was sentenced to six years imprisonment for murder.
Mbhele was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, murder being eight years and seven years for possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Mazibuko and Dladla were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder.
Deokaran was assassinated outside her home in Mondeor, south of Joburg, on 23 August 2021, weeks after pointing out millions of suspicious payments from Tembisa Hospital.
The accused were arrested three days after the assassination, and the matter was brought to court.
The court heard how the accused carefully hashed out a plan to deal with Deokaran before 'causing more problems at work' as she was aware of the financial mismanagement and irregularities.
This plan to kill Deokaran pinned down finer details from watching the deceased movement over weeks, taking a picture of her house, capturing the registration number and the type of vehicle she drove.
The judge said when Deokaran reported her suspicions to the superiors resulting in investigations, she became a whistleblower and paid with her life.
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After court, Rakesh said the apology by the accused was rejected because they had no right to take someone else's life.
When asked if the details heard in court brought closure and a sense of understanding about what happened on that unfaithful day, Rakesh said nothing would ever bring closure.
"The fact that she lost her life. She is missed every single day, so nothing will ever bring closure to this," he said.
While more questions still linger in the case, Gauteng's DA Shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom said they were concerned because the mastermind was not revealed.
" I hope their plea deal includes as much information as possible about those who wanted to stop Babita uncovering massive corruption at the Tembisa Hospital and elsewhere.
"Anything less will be a travesty of justice and a blow to Babita’s family, who are commemorating the second anniversary of her murder tomorrow," he said.
