Keynote Address by Chairperson Tebogo Khaas

Theme: From Silence to Defiance: Reclaiming Integrity in a Captured State

Speaker: Tebogo Khaas, Chairperson, Public Interest SA

University of Johannesburg – Combating Corruption Summit

3 September 2025 | 09:40 – 10:10

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Thank you program director, Mr Alan Committie.

Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg

Members of the Council

Member of Royalty Chief Zibi

Members of the Executive

Our gracious sponsors

Mr Dries Pretorius, the General Counsel at the University of Johannesburg

Distinguished guests, colleagues, students, and fellow citizens,

The gracious, timely invitation from Mr Pretorius left me no room for hesitation. 

I am deeply honoured and grateful to address you today at this important Combating Corruption Summit. Let me express my gratitude to the University of Johannesburg, the Office of the General Counsel, and all organisers for convening this gathering at such a critical juncture in our democracy.

We meet here not merely to talk about corruption, but to confront it — to ask the hard questions about integrity, power, and the future of our democracy.

The theme I have been invited to reflect upon — “From Silence to Defiance: Reclaiming Integrity in a Captured State” — is both urgent and deeply personal. It speaks to the wounds of our past, the struggles of our present, and the possibilities of our future.

For too long, silence was our companion. Silence when institutions were being hollowed out. Silence when public money meant for clinics, schools, law enforcement, and creating jobs was siphoned into the pockets of a few. Silence when those who dared to speak out were persecuted, marginalised, or even forced into exile.

But silence, as we know, is complicity.

Defiance comes when ordinary South Africans — whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and courageous public servants — refuse to accept this betrayal of our democracy. They break the silence. They risk careers, families, livelihoods, and in some cases, their very lives.

Defiance is not comfortable. But defiance is necessary — for it is through defiance that integrity is reclaimed, and through integrity that nations are rebuilt.

Let me begin with those who embody this spirit of defiance: whistleblowers.

Their stories are often tragic but inspiring. They speak not from positions of privilege but from the conviction that truth matters. We have seen their courage in exposing corruption within state-owned enterprises, municipalities, and private corporations complicit in state capture.

Yet, too often, their reward has been intimidation, dismissal, financial ruin, or worse.

If South Africa is serious about combating corruption, we must do more than applaud their bravery after the fact. We must create an environment where telling the truth is safe, encouraged, and protected.

This means:

• Reforming whistleblowing laws to meet global standards.

• Creating independent bodies to investigate disclosures.

• Providing real support — financial and psychosocial — to whistleblowers

Protecting whistleblowers is protecting our democracy. It’s time to harmonise our laws with international standards and ensure that truth-tellers are safe, supported, and heard.

And, perhaps most importantly, recognising whistleblowers not as traitors but as patriots — as assets of our democracy.

Colleagues,

We cannot speak about reclaiming integrity without confronting the scars of state capture. The Zondo Commission revealed, in painstaking detail, how networks of politicians, officials, and business actors conspired to repurpose the state for private gain.

It was not just corruption; it was a systematic attack on our institutions, our economy, and our collective future.

Billions were lost — not just in rands, but in opportunities. Lost jobs. Lost services. Lost hope.

But the lesson of state capture is not only about what happened. It is about what could happen again if we are not vigilant. State capture is not an event frozen in time; it is a continuing risk whenever power is concentrated, transparency is weakened, and accountability is absent.

Sadly, some of those implicated in egregious wrongdoing before the Zondo Commission now occupy influential positions within the once-hallowed corridors of Parliament and the Executive.

In South Africa, corruption is not just a theft of money; it is a theft of life, of hope, and of trust. Since the dawn of democracy, we have witnessed the tragic cost borne by those brave enough to speak truth to power.

Program Director

If corruption is the cancer of governance, then whistleblowers are the frontline surgeons. But in South Africa, our surgeons are being assassinated.

Consider Babita Deokaran, a mother and senior financial officer in the Gauteng Department of Health, gunned down outside her home after exposing massive procurement fraud.

Do you recall that familiar 2010 rallying cry: ‘Feel it, it is here!’?

Think of Jimmy Mohlala, a father and council speaker in Mpumalanga, silenced for questioning corruption linked to the Mbombela Stadium for the 2010 World Cup.

Or Mpho Mafole, financial audit chief, assassinated just as he, reportedly, was about to expose a R2 billion electricity billing corruption at the City of Ekurhuleni municipality.

Sindiso Magaqa, a rising political leader in KwaZulu-Natal, who was assassinated after revealing tender corruption.

And in Limpopo, municipal whistleblowers who exposed VBS Mutual Bank fraud who were killed, and many more across our provinces.

The list is endless.

These are not statistics. These are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, colleagues — lives cut short in the service of integrity. Their deaths are a stark reminder that the fight against corruption is not academic; it is lived, often at enormous personal cost.

Each whistleblower killed is not just a loss — it must be a rallying cry. Their blood waters the roots of our democracy. Their silence must awaken our voices.

And yet, their courage must not be in vain. We honour them not with silence, but with action. Their sacrifice calls on all of us — civil society, organised labour, government, academia, and business — to strengthen protections, demand accountability, and ensure that South Africa’s whistleblowers are celebrated, supported, and safeguarded.

Let their courage inspire us. Let their legacy fuel our determination. And let us commit, here and now, that the next Babita, the next Jimmy, the next Sindiso, the next Mpho, the next Pamela Mabini, will not be silenced by fear – nor the barrel of a gun.

We owe them nothing less than a nation that protects truth and integrity with every fibre of its being.

Here, leadership becomes critical.

Corruption thrives not only where leaders are corrupt, but also where leaders and members of society are indifferent, weak, or silent.

We must therefore move beyond rhetoric to accountability. Boards must be held liable for negligence, or turning a blind eye on whistleblower retaliation.

Procurement processes must be transparent and subject to public scrutiny.

Enforcement agencies must be strengthened and act without fear or favour, regardless of political or economic power.

Ethical leadership cannot be optional. It must be the very foundation of governance — in both the public and private sectors.

Fellow South Africans.

Government’s slow pace to fix a deficient whistleblowing legislative regime leaves whistleblowers exposed — and the public interest unprotected.

Perhaps it is fitting to draw on the words of former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke in his keynote address at our inaugural Whistleblowers Awards, when he posed this piercing question:

“How is it possible that, despite the elaborate and numerous laws we have enacted to combat corruption and other improprieties, we see no real abatement in the tide of misappropriation, irregular expenditure, and corruption?”

Program director,

Of course, even as we confront hard truths, fairness requires that we acknowledge government’s anti-corruption strides.

In its final report to the President, the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) recommends establishing an Office of Public Integrity and Anti-Corruption (OPI).

It proposes the OPI as a permanent, independent, overarching authority, entrenched as a Chapter 9 institution — signalling a serious, society-wide commitment to safeguard constitutional democracy.

However, to demonstrate seriousness, government must also remove the requirement of a presidential proclamation before SIU investigations can begin.

But let us not be deceived: institutions alone cannot save our democracy.

It is vigilant, active citizens who make democracy work. It is civil society that keeps power in check. It is an engaged public that ensures corruption is not normalised.

Citizen empowerment means demanding accountability, participating in oversight, and refusing to accept mediocrity in governance.

It means protecting media freedom and supporting investigative journalism.

It means teaching the next generation that integrity is not negotiable.

Democracy cannot survive on silence; it needs our collective defiance against wrongdoing.

Friends,

South Africa stands at a crossroads. We can choose the path of cynicism, resignation, and silence — or we can choose the path of defiance, courage, and integrity.

The choice will define whether our democracy deepens or decays.

For us gathered here today, let that choice be clear: Let us make our democracy work!

Let us therefore reclaim integrity in our institutions, in our leadership, and in ourselves.

Let us build a South Africa where those who speak truth to power and shine a light on malfeasance are celebrated, not punished. And let us remember always that corruption is not inevitable — it is defeatable.

Program Director, distinguished guests, fellow South Africans,

As I conclude, let us renew our collective commitment to the timeless adage: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” May we continue to shine that light — fearlessly and relentlessly — into every corner where secrecy, corruption, and injustice may seek refuge.

And in the words of Keorapetse William Kgositsile, whose name graces this theatre: “When the lights go off, we must be the ones to keep the flame burning.”

Thank you for your kind attention, and may the next three days prove both fruitful and enriching for all.

Ke a leboga.