South African authorities have failed to protect whistleblowers, who expose corruption and criminal activities in government and state-owned enterprises, from attacks and killings, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities need to conduct effective, prompt, and impartial investigations to hold those responsible to account and to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
During the State of the Nation Address on February 12, 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa repeated a previous commitment to introduce a new Whistleblower Protection Bill in parliament. But the bill has not been passed and as the killings in 2025 of two whistleblowers, Mpho Mafole and Marius Van Der Merwe, demonstrate, whistleblowers cannot afford more unfulfilled promises.
"The scale and frequency with which whistleblowers are attacked and killed for exposing criminal syndicates and corruption is alarming and raises serious concerns for their safety and protection in South Africa," said Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "South African authorities should urgently enhance safety measures for whistleblowers and address limitations in the existing legal framework."
Unidentified people killed Mafole in a drive-by shooting on June 30, 2025, in Johannesburg. Mafole was a 47-year-old municipal forensic auditor and group divisional head for corporate and forensic audits for the city of Ekurhuleni. He had flagged procurement irregularities in a 1.8 billion rand (approximately US$112.9 million) mobile chemical toilet tender and submitted his audit findings on June 26, four days before his killing. Investigative journalists have reported that Mafole was tracked by his killers starting when he left his home around 8 a.m. until shortly before 6 p.m., when he was killed.
Thabani Goodwill Ntshalintshali was arrested on July 25, and charged with Mafole's murder. His trial is scheduled to start on March 24, 2026. A warrant has also been issued for a second suspect, Hlanganani Agripper Mncwango, who is still at large.
On December 5, 2025, unidentified people shot Van Der Merwe multiple times in full view of his family outside their home in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg. Van Der Merwe was a former police official who testified off-camera before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System (Madlanga Commission). He highlighted serious allegations of criminality and corruption in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.
On February 5, 2026, Wiandre Pretorius, a police reservist, survived an attempt on his life by individuals who reportedly fired 16 bullets at his vehicle as he was leaving his home in Boksburg. On February 7, he allegedly died by suicide. He had been implicated by Van Der Merwe in the 2022 killing of Emmanuel Mbense, allegedly at the hands of the police .Three others out of twelve people identified as persons of interest in Mbense's death have been killed, reportedly "execution style."
"Whistleblowing is central to countering corruption and improving transparency, [yet] it has also proven to be fatal in too many instances," Nkululeko Conco, attorney at Corruption Watch, a South African group, told Human Rights Watch. As such, legislative reform should "consolidate the fragmented approach to whistleblowing, which is articulated in various pieces of legislation."
Whistleblower attacks in post-Apartheid South Africa have a long history with many whistleblowers over the past two decades being victims of targeted killings or abusive attacks, in retaliation for exposing corruption and criminality.
While the Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000 nominally provides legal protection against reprisals for workers who disclose information about wrongdoing in public and private sectors, the law is woefully inadequate, Human Rights Watch said. In 2023, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development issued a discussion document proposing reforms to the whistleblower protection regime, which highlights how the act and other related legislation could be strengthened.
Proposals included expanding the definitions of whistleblower beyond the employer-employer relationship; shortening time frames for investigating a disclosure; improved measures to keep a protected disclosure confidential; making it an offense not to act on a protected disclosure; establishing a mechanism to help whistleblowers with legal assistance; and enhancing the powers of regulatory bodies such as the South African Human Rights Commission to deal with protected disclosures.
President Ramaphosa first made the commitment to "finalize the Whistleblower Protection Framework and introduce the Whistleblower Protection Bill in Parliament" during last year's State of the Nation Address. One year later, this has not happened.
In this year's address, President Ramaphosa made a similar commitment, saying: "We cannot accept that those who speak out against corruption are victimized and targeted. The Whistleblower Protection Bill will be introduced in Parliament. Among other things, this will criminalize retaliation and provide psychosocial, legal, and financial support to whistleblowers. And there will be a special focus on restructuring our procurement system with a view to ending corruption."
The South African government urgently needs to translate the commitment into concrete actions, Human Rights Watch said. These include the prompt passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill and the implementation of comprehensive safeguards for whistleblowers such as effective witness protection.
"South African authorities cannot afford to recycle empty promises because the lives of whistleblowers are at risk," Masiko-Mpaka said. "Whistleblowers do not need promises, but specific, measurable, and tangible steps to ensure their safety and end the risk of retaliation and violence."
