ISI participates in the Inaugural Babita Deokaran Annual Lecture

The Inclusive Society Institute (ISI) joined leading national and international stakeholders on 9 December 2025 for the inaugural Babita Deokaran Annual Lecture, hosted by Stellenbosch University’s School of Public Leadership and its Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research (ACCERUS). The event, held on the Bellville Park Campus, honoured the life, courage and sacrifice of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, whose assassination in 2021 exposed the deep vulnerabilities faced by officials who act with integrity in the public interest.

ISI Chief Executive Officer, Daryl Swanepoel, addressed the gathering alongside government leaders, oversight institutions, academia, civil society, and several prominent whistle-blowers. In his remarks, Swanepoel emphasised that Babita’s murder was not an isolated tragedy, but a structural failure of South Africa’s whistle-blower protection regime. He argued that honouring her legacy requires more than symbolic gestures, it demands bold institutional reform.

Swanepoel called for the establishment of an independent, constitutionally anchored Office for Whistle-blower Protection, automatic protection triggers when disclosures are made, a secure digital reporting platform and a sustainably financed Whistle-blower Protection Fund. He stressed that whistle-blowers are the frontline of accountability, and that safeguarding them is a democratic imperative, not a bureaucratic courtesy.

The lecture brought together an impressive range of partners and speakers, as reflected in the programme: senior representatives from the Presidency, the Public Protector, the Public Service Commission, the Special Investigating Unit, the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption, academic institutions and civil-society organisations including OUTA and IMPSA. Their contributions collectively underscored the urgent need to rebuild public trust through stronger systems of transparency, professional public administration and citizen protection.

ISI is proud to have contributed to this important inaugural lecture and remains committed to advancing ethical governance and strengthening South Africa’s anti-corruption architecture. As Swanepoel noted, “We cannot bring Babita back, but we can ensure that her courage becomes a foundation for a more honest and accountable state.”