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The Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers are seldom seen as heroes. Instead, they are often viewed through a negative lens, described as troublemakers, disloyal employees, traitors, snitches and, in South Africa, as impimpis or informers. They risk denigration and scorn, not to mention dismissal from their positions and finding their careers in tatters.
With corruption and fraud endemic in democratic South Africa, whistleblowers have played a pivotal role in bringing wrongdoing to light. They have provided an invaluable service to society through disclosures about cover-ups, malfeasance and wrongdoing. Their courageous acts have resulted in the recovery of millions of rands to the fiscus and to their fellow citizens as well as improved transparency and accountability for office bearers and politicians. Some would argue it was whistleblowing that brought down a president and the corrupt ‘state capture’ regime.
But in most cases, the outcomes for the whistleblowers themselves are harrowing and devastating. Some have been gunned down in orchestrated assassinations, others have been threatened and targeted in sinister dirty-tricks campaigns. Many are hounded out of their jobs, ostracised and victimised. They struggle to find employment and are pushed to the fringes of society. Where there is litigation, this drags on and on through the courts.
Mental health and relationships suffer. The psychological burden of choosing to speak up when there has been little reward or compensation is a heavy one to carry.
The Whistleblowers shines a light on their plight, advocating for a change in legislation, organisational support and social attitudes in order to embolden more potential whistleblowers to have the courage to step up.
These are the raw and evocative accounts of South Africa’s whistleblowers, told in their own voices and from their own perspectives: from the hallowed corridors of parliament to the political killing fields of KwaZulu-Natal, from the fraud-riddled platinum belt to the impoverished, gang-ridden suburb of Elsies River, from the gantried freeways of Gauteng to the Bosasa blesser’s facebrick campus in Krugersdorp, from the wild east of Mpumalanga to the corporate jungle of Sandton, and from the wide farmlands of the Free State to that compound of corruption in Saxonwold.
With corruption and fraud endemic in democratic South Africa, whistleblowers have played a pivotal role in bringing wrongdoing to light. They have provided an invaluable service to society through disclosures about cover-ups, malfeasance and wrongdoing. Their courageous acts have resulted in the recovery of millions of rands to the fiscus and to their fellow citizens as well as improved transparency and accountability for office bearers and politicians. Some would argue it was whistleblowing that brought down a president and the corrupt ‘state capture’ regime.
But in most cases, the outcomes for the whistleblowers themselves are harrowing and devastating. Some have been gunned down in orchestrated assassinations, others have been threatened and targeted in sinister dirty-tricks campaigns. Many are hounded out of their jobs, ostracised and victimised. They struggle to find employment and are pushed to the fringes of society. Where there is litigation, this drags on and on through the courts.
Mental health and relationships suffer. The psychological burden of choosing to speak up when there has been little reward or compensation is a heavy one to carry.
The Whistleblowers shines a light on their plight, advocating for a change in legislation, organisational support and social attitudes in order to embolden more potential whistleblowers to have the courage to step up.
These are the raw and evocative accounts of South Africa’s whistleblowers, told in their own voices and from their own perspectives: from the hallowed corridors of parliament to the political killing fields of KwaZulu-Natal, from the fraud-riddled platinum belt to the impoverished, gang-ridden suburb of Elsies River, from the gantried freeways of Gauteng to the Bosasa blesser’s facebrick campus in Krugersdorp, from the wild east of Mpumalanga to the corporate jungle of Sandton, and from the wide farmlands of the Free State to that compound of corruption in Saxonwold.
515 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2020
14 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Mandy Wiener
15 books19 followersMandy Wiener is an award-winning journalist for Eyewitness News and Talk Radio 702.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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October 17, 2022Sad book about how whistle-blowers are treated. It is no wonder why there is so little whistleblowing going on.
Many whistleblowing stories I had not heard of before.
Many whistleblowing stories I had not heard of before.
January 8, 2025
A lot of brave people that nobody knows about. Both inspiring and depressing as far as what the state the country is in. Well researched, interviewed and written.
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June 7, 2022What does it cost to be a whistleblower in South Africa? A couple of millions and thousands in your bank account? Your sanity? Your very own life? What if it is all of the above?
The Whistleblowers by Mandy Wiener is an important book. It exposes us to what happens in the lives of those who became whistleblowers, how their decisions have impacted them and their families, and how the law has failed them to some degree because mostly, because of their decisions, are now unemployed and unemployable, sick mentally and physically, and they are stigmatised by their communities.
The author opens up the book by talking to Thlolo Phakoe, the surviving son of the late Moss Phakoe. Moss Phakoe was shot dead because he was going to release a dossier detailing the corruption in the Rustenburg Municipality. Two people were arrested but later acquitted.
Another person the author talks to is Imraahn Ismail-Mukaddam, who blew the whistle about the price-fixings by big bread companies. He was later excluded from the distribution chain. He incurred losses that he ended up selling his bakery.
Other people Mandy talks to in this book are Patricia de Lille, Bianca Goodson, Simphiwe Mayisela, Angelo Agrizzi, Doctor Radebe, and many others. They all have gut-wrenching stories about how their lives had turned out after they blew the whistle.
This book was heavy, I won’t lie. As a young democratic country like ours, we simply can’t go on like this. Whistleblowers are important in the pursuit of justice, so they should be protected like those politicians who are accused of corruption. Whistleblowers should be supported emotionally, psychologically, and financially because it costs all of that to stand up for the truth in SA.
The photos taken by Felix Dlangamandla were so amazing because they managed to capture the unspoken of the victims/survivors. They showed what Mandy’s words couldn’t begin to describe.
The author didn’t write this book to scare the future whistleblowers, but she wrote it so we can be encouraged by the strengths of these unsung heroes. It was unbelievable that most of them, regardless of what they have been through, when they were asked if they would do it again, said yes. All they cried for was empathy and protection.
South Africans should read this.
The Whistleblowers by Mandy Wiener is an important book. It exposes us to what happens in the lives of those who became whistleblowers, how their decisions have impacted them and their families, and how the law has failed them to some degree because mostly, because of their decisions, are now unemployed and unemployable, sick mentally and physically, and they are stigmatised by their communities.
The author opens up the book by talking to Thlolo Phakoe, the surviving son of the late Moss Phakoe. Moss Phakoe was shot dead because he was going to release a dossier detailing the corruption in the Rustenburg Municipality. Two people were arrested but later acquitted.
Another person the author talks to is Imraahn Ismail-Mukaddam, who blew the whistle about the price-fixings by big bread companies. He was later excluded from the distribution chain. He incurred losses that he ended up selling his bakery.
Other people Mandy talks to in this book are Patricia de Lille, Bianca Goodson, Simphiwe Mayisela, Angelo Agrizzi, Doctor Radebe, and many others. They all have gut-wrenching stories about how their lives had turned out after they blew the whistle.
This book was heavy, I won’t lie. As a young democratic country like ours, we simply can’t go on like this. Whistleblowers are important in the pursuit of justice, so they should be protected like those politicians who are accused of corruption. Whistleblowers should be supported emotionally, psychologically, and financially because it costs all of that to stand up for the truth in SA.
The photos taken by Felix Dlangamandla were so amazing because they managed to capture the unspoken of the victims/survivors. They showed what Mandy’s words couldn’t begin to describe.
The author didn’t write this book to scare the future whistleblowers, but she wrote it so we can be encouraged by the strengths of these unsung heroes. It was unbelievable that most of them, regardless of what they have been through, when they were asked if they would do it again, said yes. All they cried for was empathy and protection.
South Africans should read this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews