23/07/2026
HINDASA FOUNDATION ON THE UNVEILING THE BUST OF BABITA DEOKARAN
Whistleblower Immortalised on Women's Day 2026 at Shree Mariammen Temple, Mount Edgecombe by the Mount Edgecombe Arts and Culture Centre
HINDASA FOUNDATION HONOURS THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
On 9 August 2026 Women's Day the Hindasa Foundation will unveil a bronze bust of Babita Deokaran at the Shree Mariammen Temple, Siphosethu Road, Mount Edgecombe, ensuring that the face of courage will never be forgotten. The bust stands as a permanent reminder that one woman's bravery exposed a corruption network that stole billions from Tembisa Hospital while patients died from lack of basic supplies.
Deokaran, a senior finance official in the Gauteng Department of Health, was gunned down outside her home in August 2021 after she flagged irregular tenders and refused to sign off on fraudulent payments to connected service providers. Six hitmen were convicted for her murder, but the masterminds who ordered her assassination remain at large.
WOMEN'S DAY: A DELIBERATE CHOICE
The Hindasa Foundation deliberately selected Women's Day for this unveiling. August 9 marks the day in 1956 when 20,000 women marched on the Union Buildings to demand their rights. Today, we honour a different kind of courage a woman who marched alone against corruption, armed only with her integrity and her refusal to be silenced. This is “Nari Shakti”or Women Power.
Foundation Chairperson stated: "Babita Deokaran is the embodiment of Women's Day. She did not wait for permission to speak truth to power. She did not seek a crowd to hide behind. She stood alone, and she paid the ultimate price. On this Women's Day, we ask: Where are the Babita Deokarans in our government today? Where are the women and men who will refuse to sign, refuse to look away, refuse to be complicit?"
THE BUST: A SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE AT A SACRED SITE
The Hindasa Foundation selected the Shree Mariammen Temple as the permanent home for Deokaran's bust a site of spiritual significance where the community gathers to seek truth and justice. The sculpture depicts Deokaran with her signature bindi and determined expression, her gaze fixed forward as if still demanding accountability from those who betrayed the public trust.
The temple setting is deliberate, corruption is not merely a crime against the state it is a sin against the most vulnerable members of society who depend on public hospitals for survival.
UNRESOLVED JUSTICE: THE MASTERMINDS REMAIN FREE
While six gunmen serve life sentences, the Hindasa Foundation emphasizes that justice remains incomplete. The funders of the assassination including senior officials and business figures who profited from the hospital looting have never been prosecuted.
The foundation demands:
• Immediate arrest and prosecution of the masterminds behind Deokaran's murder
• Lifetime imprisonment for all involved in the Tembisa Hospital corruption scheme
• Mandatory whistleblower protection legislation with criminal penalties for retaliation
• Naming and blacklisting of all service providers implicated in the corruption network
A CHALLENGE ON WOMEN'S DAY
The Hindasa Foundation challenges every woman in public service and every man who claims to support women's rights to honor Deokaran's memory by refusing to sign fraudulent documents, by speaking up when they witness corruption, and by protecting colleagues who come forward.
The foundation warns: "Babita Deokaran did not die so that her colleagues could return to business as usual. She died because she chose the public interest over personal safety. Her bust is not a memorial to a martyr it a mirror held up to those who remain silent while corruption thrives. On this Women's Day, we ask every South African: What will you do when you are asked to look away?"
"Babita Deokaran's bust will stand at Shree Mariammen Temple long after the corrupt have been forgotten. Her name will be spoken when the names of her killers have turned to dust. This Women's Day, we make a promise: her death will mean something, her courage will outlast their cowardice, and the fight for a corruption-free South Africa continues in her name”
9 AUGUST 2026 | SHREE MARIAMMEN TEMPLE | SIPHOSETHU RD | MOUNT EDGECOMBE
COURAGE. ACCOUNTABILITY. NEVER FORGET.
