Public Interest SA Deeply Concerned by Suspension of Transport Department Whistleblower Esethu Hasane

JOHANNESBURG | 10 September 2026 — Public Interest SA notes with grave concern the suspension of Mr Esethu Hasane, Director: Research and Content Development at the National Department of Transport, days after he publicly raised allegations concerning possible procurement irregularities involving approximately R15 million and alleged victimisation arising from his disclosures.

The suspension represents a deeply troubling escalation in a matter in which Public Interest SA had already called for urgent protection of Mr Hasane and an independent investigation into both the underlying procurement allegations and his claims of retaliation.

The timing of the suspension demands answers.

On 6 September 2026, the Department publicly stated that it took Mr Hasane’s allegations of financial irregularity “very seriously” and announced that the Acting Director-General, Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama, had appointed Bowmans to conduct an independent investigation.

Barely three days later, Mr Hasane was suspended.

Public Interest SA does not suggest that the mere suspension of an employee necessarily constitutes victimisation or an unlawful occupational detriment. Employers are entitled to institute legitimate disciplinary processes where objectively justified.

However, where the employee concerned has made disclosures concerning suspected wrongdoing and subsequently faces adverse employment action, the State bears a particularly heavy ethical responsibility to demonstrate that its actions are lawful, procedurally fair and entirely unrelated to retaliation for those disclosures.

This is especially important because Mr Hasane alleges that the Acting Director-General who commissioned the investigation into his disclosures is also the official who has now suspended him.

INVESTIGATE THE DISCLOSURE — DO NOT PUNISH THE WHISTLEBLOWER

South Africa cannot simultaneously proclaim its commitment to protecting whistleblowers while public servants who raise concerns about the expenditure of public money find themselves fighting for their livelihoods.

The appropriate response to credible allegations concerning public expenditure is to investigate them independently, follow the money, establish the facts and hold those responsible accountable where wrongdoing is established.

It cannot be to create circumstances — whether intentionally or otherwise — that may reasonably be perceived as punishing the person who sounded the alarm.

Public Interest SA is therefore concerned that the latest development risks having a chilling effect far beyond Mr Hasane’s individual circumstances. Every public servant watching this matter will inevitably ask: What happens to me if I report suspected wrongdoing?

That is precisely the question that South Africa's whistleblower protection framework is supposed to answer with confidence.

DEPARTMENT MUST EXPLAIN THE SUSPENSION

Tebogo Khaas, chairperson of Public Interest SA said:

"We accordingly calls upon the Department of Transport to disclose, within the limits permitted by labour law, the substantive basis upon which Mr Hasane has been suspended and to clarify whether the suspension relates in any manner whatsoever to his protected disclosures, his cooperation with investigative authorities or his subsequent public statements."

"We further call for appropriate safeguards to ensure that no official who is implicated, directly or indirectly, in allegations forming part of Mr Hasane’s disclosures exercises influence over investigations or employment proceedings arising from this matter," he added.

The investigation into the alleged procurement irregularities must also remain genuinely independent. Its mandate should not be confined to determining whether individual transactions complied technically with procurement rules, but should establish whether procurement was deliberately structured or fragmented to avoid applicable competitive procurement thresholds, whether value for money was obtained and whether any officials or service providers improperly benefited.

Equally important is an independent examination of the chronology following Mr Hasane's disclosures: what he reported, to whom he reported it, what action followed, what employment consequences subsequently befell him and whether any causal relationship exists between those events.

MINISTER CREECY SHOULD INTERVENE

Given the seriousness of the allegations and the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the Department and one of its senior officials, Public Interest SA believes that this matter can no longer safely be regarded merely as an internal administrative or labour dispute.

We call upon the Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy, to satisfy herself that Mr Hasane is afforded all protections available to him in law and that both the procurement allegations and allegations of retaliation are subjected to credible and demonstrably independent scrutiny.

The Minister should further ensure that the Department's handling of this matter does not compromise ongoing or prospective investigations by the Auditor-General, the Hawks or any other competent authority to which disclosures may have been made.

The credibility of government’s commitment to whistleblower protection is ultimately measured not by policy statements but by what happens when an actual employee raises the alarm.

South Africa has paid too high a price for the failure to protect people who expose corruption.

The message from the State must therefore be unequivocal:

Investigate the allegations. Protect the integrity of the evidence. Protect the whistleblower. And let the facts determine accountability.

ENDS

Issued by Public Interest SA