In a stark television interview, social worker and justice monitor John Clarke painted a dire picture of the lethal risks facing whistleblowers in South Africa, describing a state infiltrated by criminal syndicates that actively work to silence those who expose corruption.
Clarke, who has worked with whistleblowers for five years and was an activist for a decade prior, spoke following a series of high-profile killings, including the recent murders of Pamela Mabini and Marius van der Merwe. He cited the assassination of community activist Bazooka Radebe nearly ten years ago as the event that first drew him into the field.
A “Flatfooted” State and Weaponized Laws
Clarke described South Africa’s approach as “flatfooted,” with grievances piling up as whistleblowers face threats not only to their lives but to their livelihoods. He argued that protective legislation, like the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) and the Labor Relations Act, is often “weaponized against them.”
“I can’t save people’s lives. I’m a social worker,” Clarke stated. “It needs the police force. It needs the authority of the state to protect them. That’s their job.”
He expressed hope, however, following an engagement with a government minister, vowing to ensure the death of whistleblower Marius van der Merwe would not be in vain.
South Africa Labeled Uniquely Dangerous
When asked if South Africa is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for whistleblowers, Clarke agreed. He presented a three-year-old hypothesis that the nation is in the grip of a “thugocratic machine,” where organized crime has infiltrated the state.
“They have made it darn sure that whistleblower protection doesn’t happen and support for them doesn’t happen,” Clarke said. “They have delayed the legislative reform because they know it’d be bad for business.”
He called for an inter-ministerial process to identify who within state institutions is deliberately delaying whistleblower protection reforms, calling it the “first priority” of any anti-corruption strategy.
Targeted for Asking Questions
Clarke illustrated the immediate dangers with the case of Patrick Maduna, a trustee on a board for an organization set up by Shell South Africa. After asking questions at a meeting about benefits for workers, Maduna was forced out of the organization and now drives a car with a bullet hole in the back. Clarke noted that Maduna has been waiting three years for a Labour Court judgment while his family suffers.
“As soon as somebody rocks the boat and shows themselves accountable and holds people with power accountable, they become targets,” Clarke explained.
An “Economy of Killing” and a Call to Courage
The interview raised the grim question of whether an “economy of killing” now surrounds corruption in South Africa, where silencing truth-tellers is part of a business model.
Clarke acknowledged the paradox, noting that resorting to murder signals desperation from the perpetrators. He emphasized that the whistleblower community remains determined, viewing themselves as “witness bearers”—a term he noted is etymologically linked to “martyr.”
“We’ve all got to… be prepared to die for the sake of justice,” Clarke urged the public, calling for moral courage to blunt the instrument of violence. “We are going to make sure your death [is] not in vain.”
The segment concluded with the somber observation that in South Africa, exposing corruption has transcended an act of courage to become an act of extreme personal risk, where individuals are “being silenced with bullets rather than protected by the law.”
