Within an hour of receiving the news that whistleblower Babita Deokaran had been shot, her three sisters and brother started the drive from Durban to the hospital where she had been taken. They were halfway to Johannesburg when the family received the news that Deokaran had died from her injuries.
“That shattered us. That broke us to pieces. We had to pull off the road and weep and get back in the car and drive all the way to Johannesburg. I won’t forget that day,” said Deokaran’s brother-in-law Tony Haripersadh.