South Africa continues edging closer to a mafia state
20 March 2023
The DA expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Cloete Murray and his son Thomas who were assassinated this past Saturday.
Murray was a court-appointed liquidator for Bosasa, which was implicated in widespread corruption during testimony at the Zondo Commission. He was also involved in the insolvency proceedings of a variety of other high-profile arms of state affected by state capture. His assassination serves as a blow to the fight against corruption and may act as a deterrent to curators and liquidators involved in serious corruption matters.
This tragic murder joins a long list of both attempted and fatal hits on persons involved in uncovering and eradicating corruption in our state.
In 2021, Babita Deokaran, a financial manager who flagged fraudulent payments out of Tembisa Hospital was gunned down after dropping her daughter off at school.
Andre de Ruyter survived a cyanide poisoning attempt as he got closer to unveiling the widespread corruption in Eskom’s supply networks.
Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, the Vice-Chancellor of Fort Hare University, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt which killed his bodyguard in January 2023, while he attempted to close the taps on procurement corruption.
The inability of the ANC government to effectively tackle corruption and crime within its ranks is increasingly turning our nation into a mafia state, where the government and many of its officials are tied with organized crime. It has become increasingly apparent that high-level politicians, often occupying the highest offices in the land are potentially linked to insidious criminal networks.
The state is increasingly seen as a mechanism to access resources and wealth through looting and extensive patronage networks. When these networks are exposed, violent and criminal pushback is often experienced.
Unless the state effectively deals assassinations of whistleblowers and corruption fighters, increasingly fewer South Africans will be willing to risk their lives to join the fight against corruption.
The DA has previously revealed that the cost of protecting one ‘VIP’’ in South Africa was approximately R8 million for the 2021/22 financial year. The DA calls on this funding to be slashed, and greater protection instead provided to whistleblowers, corruption fighters and front-line policing. By better protecting those who expose and investigate corruption, South Africa will be better positioned to tackle the mafia state head on.
We call on President Ramaphosa to tackle the problem of assassinations, and the infiltration of gangsters into the SAPS with the urgency it requires and protect those who stand up against corruption.
The time for mere talk on fighting crime and corruption is over. The government needs to protect those who stand up to state capture – it is the minimum these brave individuals deserve.
Issued by Solly Malatsi, DA National Spokesperson, 20 March 2023
