Hawks arrest seven for assassination of PPE corruption witness

Gauteng police arrested suspects in connection with the execution-style murder of Gauteng health department official Babita Deokaran on Friday morning.

Deokaran, a 53-year-old chief director, was gunned down on 23 August in Winchester Hills after dropping off her child at school. 

Deokaran was a witness in the R332-million Covid PPE tender corruption scandal in the Gauteng government. 

A police statement said they raided the suspects’ hideouts in Johannesburg, after a tip off from Crime Intelligence, recovering two firearms and two vehicles.

The police said the case has been transferred to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation and that more charges could be added “when the suspects appear in court soon”.

Image source: FerialHaffajee