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The Shadow State: Why Babita Deokaran had to die
On 23 August 2021, a quiet, hardworking single mom was shot down as she drove home. Her name was Babita Deokaran, chief accountant at the Gauteng Department of Health. The izinkabi paid to kill her were caught, but the question who ordered her murder, and why? Crime reporter Jeff Wicks set out to find the answer – a pursuit that would profoundly change, even endanger, his life. This is an explosive investigation into state capture and a moving tribute to the cost of integrity.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 17, 2025
Jeff Wicks epitomises speaking Truth to Power. In this powerful piece of investigative journalism, his 2025 book, each piece of evidence is carefully analyzed and the author also makes every effort to seek out the sources in person, often at great personal risk. Each layer of corruption is explained and then synthesized to create the bigger picture for the reader.
This book is a must read for anyone who truly cares about the past, present and future state of healthcare in South Africa. Beyond the obvious, the book speaks to the dire need for governance and the re-creation of an ethical and moral compass within the South African public healthcare sector. Yet another cask of diamonds from this multi-award winning journalist!
This book is a must read for anyone who truly cares about the past, present and future state of healthcare in South Africa. Beyond the obvious, the book speaks to the dire need for governance and the re-creation of an ethical and moral compass within the South African public healthcare sector. Yet another cask of diamonds from this multi-award winning journalist!
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October 15, 2025#TheShadowState – Jeff Wicks
#Tafelberg
At first glance he looked like the stereotypical boy next door; young, athletically built, close cropped hair, cargo pants. A detailed look revealed much more, he seemed weary beyond his years, situationally aware, eyes cautiously following every movement briefly before relaxing, seated in such a way that all entrances are visible, near the emergency exit. If you know what to look for, the signs are clear. This was a man schooled in watching his back.
When he started speaking about his book, The Shadow State, the brutal murder of Babita Deokaran, the looting of Tembisa Hospital, and his own role in connecting the elusive dots, Amazwi went silent. This is not fiction, this is real, current, and relevant.
As excellent as his presentation was at Wordfest 2025 in Makhanda, it only scratched the surface of what is contained in the printed version. Jeff Wicks, an award-winning investigative journalist, grabbed the ball dropped by the authorities, and ran with it.
Babita Deokaran was a single mother and a chief accountant at the Gauteng Department of Health. She joined the Department on 7 March 2006. On 23 August 2021, after taking her daughter to school, she died in a hail of bullets in her vehicle, just outside of her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg.
Several alarm bells ring loud and clear when the investigation into her death is scrutinized. The SAPS members who attended the crime scene did not seize the vehicle, her handbag, cellphone or laptop. Thus, no touch DNA, fingerprints, bullet trajectories, or fragments were searched for. It was left to her brother to collect these potential exhibits, and, when her phone and laptop were finally handed back to him, a private expert confirmed that “...no work had been done to process the phone or laptop as evidence.” (79)
To add insult to injury the elite DPCI unit known as the Hawks, pulled rank and hijacked the investigation, their first action being to instruct that suspects arrested be released without being charged, and without any examination done in respect of the cellular phones that they had in their possession. Their involvement would, in hindsight, be characterized by delays and incompetence, bearing in mind the very fitting Hanlon’s razor, as quoted by the author: “Never ascribe to malice which is adequately explained by stupidity.” (80)
The axioma is not to be interpreted as no malice being involved, however. Malice manifested in several ways, some discovered by Babita, some by the author, including, but not limited to, greed, crooked officials and politicians, tenderpreneurs, fake shell companies, fraudulent invoices, the siphoning of millions of rands, syndicates, intimidation, and murder. The inconsistencies and red flags unveiled were so evident in most cases, that it bordered on the bizarre: headblocks retailing for R700-00, ‘purchased’ for R4485-00, an ordinary plastic bucket costing R9800-00, R500 000-00 for skinny jeans (for girls, aged 6-7 years), a company director, earning millions, turning out to be a packer of animal feed living in a RDP house, and the address of another company allegedly supplying medical equipment being that of an exotic pet shop, aptly selling snakes.
Yes, those physically responsible for the shooting were convicted and sentenced, but they were izinkabi, “...notorious hitmen schooled and hardened within the minibus taxi industry, (who) operate as guns for hire. They are cold, callous assassins who kill for a fee.” (16) All of them were poor, and would have qualified for Legal Aid, but, instead, were provided by a high-profile legal team on an all expenses paid ride through court. In an additional ironic twist of events the author established that one of the assassins was still on the payroll of the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality whilst absent without leave and still received his salary whilst awaiting trial in a cell.
Babita Deokaran discovered the tip of the iceberg in Tembisa Hospital’s supply chain management, and the author’s investigation proceeded to reveal the presence of a shadow state, “a parallel criminal world designed to prey on public funds. This realm and its secret economy flourish unseen.” (223)
A book of this nature can easily derail; the author becoming the hero in his own narrative. Wicks does not do that at all. Instead, he portrays Babita as an unsung hero, a dedicated mother, and an ethical worker. It is shameful that those responsible for giving the fatal order to have her killed, not only still walk the streets, but continue to benefit from money that was paid for by her blood.
The author is not unscathed either. As an investigative journalist, kicking the hornet’s nest, he had to balance the importance of the story, the public interest and the value of the truth with the threat of risk to his own life. In his own words: “I carry that fear with me even today...” (18)
And this is why Babita Deokaran was murdered: “In South Africa, anyone who acts against corruption, no matter who they are, does so knowing that while it is the right thing to do, it could see them killed. And they do so with the knowledge that if they are eliminated, their murders have only a one in ten chance of being solved.” (213)
Lest we forget.
#Uitdieperdsebek
#Tafelberg
At first glance he looked like the stereotypical boy next door; young, athletically built, close cropped hair, cargo pants. A detailed look revealed much more, he seemed weary beyond his years, situationally aware, eyes cautiously following every movement briefly before relaxing, seated in such a way that all entrances are visible, near the emergency exit. If you know what to look for, the signs are clear. This was a man schooled in watching his back.
When he started speaking about his book, The Shadow State, the brutal murder of Babita Deokaran, the looting of Tembisa Hospital, and his own role in connecting the elusive dots, Amazwi went silent. This is not fiction, this is real, current, and relevant.
As excellent as his presentation was at Wordfest 2025 in Makhanda, it only scratched the surface of what is contained in the printed version. Jeff Wicks, an award-winning investigative journalist, grabbed the ball dropped by the authorities, and ran with it.
Babita Deokaran was a single mother and a chief accountant at the Gauteng Department of Health. She joined the Department on 7 March 2006. On 23 August 2021, after taking her daughter to school, she died in a hail of bullets in her vehicle, just outside of her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg.
Several alarm bells ring loud and clear when the investigation into her death is scrutinized. The SAPS members who attended the crime scene did not seize the vehicle, her handbag, cellphone or laptop. Thus, no touch DNA, fingerprints, bullet trajectories, or fragments were searched for. It was left to her brother to collect these potential exhibits, and, when her phone and laptop were finally handed back to him, a private expert confirmed that “...no work had been done to process the phone or laptop as evidence.” (79)
To add insult to injury the elite DPCI unit known as the Hawks, pulled rank and hijacked the investigation, their first action being to instruct that suspects arrested be released without being charged, and without any examination done in respect of the cellular phones that they had in their possession. Their involvement would, in hindsight, be characterized by delays and incompetence, bearing in mind the very fitting Hanlon’s razor, as quoted by the author: “Never ascribe to malice which is adequately explained by stupidity.” (80)
The axioma is not to be interpreted as no malice being involved, however. Malice manifested in several ways, some discovered by Babita, some by the author, including, but not limited to, greed, crooked officials and politicians, tenderpreneurs, fake shell companies, fraudulent invoices, the siphoning of millions of rands, syndicates, intimidation, and murder. The inconsistencies and red flags unveiled were so evident in most cases, that it bordered on the bizarre: headblocks retailing for R700-00, ‘purchased’ for R4485-00, an ordinary plastic bucket costing R9800-00, R500 000-00 for skinny jeans (for girls, aged 6-7 years), a company director, earning millions, turning out to be a packer of animal feed living in a RDP house, and the address of another company allegedly supplying medical equipment being that of an exotic pet shop, aptly selling snakes.
Yes, those physically responsible for the shooting were convicted and sentenced, but they were izinkabi, “...notorious hitmen schooled and hardened within the minibus taxi industry, (who) operate as guns for hire. They are cold, callous assassins who kill for a fee.” (16) All of them were poor, and would have qualified for Legal Aid, but, instead, were provided by a high-profile legal team on an all expenses paid ride through court. In an additional ironic twist of events the author established that one of the assassins was still on the payroll of the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality whilst absent without leave and still received his salary whilst awaiting trial in a cell.
Babita Deokaran discovered the tip of the iceberg in Tembisa Hospital’s supply chain management, and the author’s investigation proceeded to reveal the presence of a shadow state, “a parallel criminal world designed to prey on public funds. This realm and its secret economy flourish unseen.” (223)
A book of this nature can easily derail; the author becoming the hero in his own narrative. Wicks does not do that at all. Instead, he portrays Babita as an unsung hero, a dedicated mother, and an ethical worker. It is shameful that those responsible for giving the fatal order to have her killed, not only still walk the streets, but continue to benefit from money that was paid for by her blood.
The author is not unscathed either. As an investigative journalist, kicking the hornet’s nest, he had to balance the importance of the story, the public interest and the value of the truth with the threat of risk to his own life. In his own words: “I carry that fear with me even today...” (18)
And this is why Babita Deokaran was murdered: “In South Africa, anyone who acts against corruption, no matter who they are, does so knowing that while it is the right thing to do, it could see them killed. And they do so with the knowledge that if they are eliminated, their murders have only a one in ten chance of being solved.” (213)
Lest we forget.
#Uitdieperdsebek
October 25, 2025
This book offers a chilling look into South Africa’s entrenched systemic corruption. Central to this book is the tragic yet courageous story of Babita Deokaran, a woman whose honesty, values, and integrity in exposing corruption within the public health system ultimately cost her life. Through Babita’s story, the book captures both the bravery of whistleblowers and the immense personal risk they face when confronting the criminal networks embedded within the state.
What begins as a personal narrative of moral courage soon expands into a broader investigation of the machinery that enables corruption to flourish. The book reveals how state capture, once overt during the Zuma years, has not vanished but rather evolved, becoming more insidious and concealed. Today, corruption operates from the shadows, protected by powerful alliances between politicians, business elites, and criminal syndicates.
This book shows that the subversion of justice in South Africa is not simply a matter of police incompetence. It is a deliberate, systemic cover-up that undermines the entire justice apparatus. This web of complicity ensures that those responsible for looting public funds and silencing truth-tellers rarely face accountability.
This is not just a story of corruption. It is a warning about the threat posed by criminal syndicates and their political enablers to South Africa's democracy.
What begins as a personal narrative of moral courage soon expands into a broader investigation of the machinery that enables corruption to flourish. The book reveals how state capture, once overt during the Zuma years, has not vanished but rather evolved, becoming more insidious and concealed. Today, corruption operates from the shadows, protected by powerful alliances between politicians, business elites, and criminal syndicates.
This book shows that the subversion of justice in South Africa is not simply a matter of police incompetence. It is a deliberate, systemic cover-up that undermines the entire justice apparatus. This web of complicity ensures that those responsible for looting public funds and silencing truth-tellers rarely face accountability.
This is not just a story of corruption. It is a warning about the threat posed by criminal syndicates and their political enablers to South Africa's democracy.
October 16, 2025
Very well written and easy to read. Makes your blood boil and is quite a depressing story.
October 19, 2025
Mind blowing! So sad our country is caught up in all this corruption,
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews