On 5 November 2025, the New South Institute hosted a public discussion and book talk, Unpacking the Shadow State — A book talk on state capture and accountability, at GIBS in Johannesburg. The event drew on two works on South Africa’s “shadow state”: Shadow State: The Politics of State Capture by Ivor Chipkin (Director of the New South Institute) and Mark Swilling, and The Shadow State: Why Babita Deokaran Had to Die by News24 investigative journalist Jeff Wicks. Speakers included Chipkin and Wicks, with Adv. Andy Mothibi, Head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and Martha Ngoye, former whistleblower and NSI Board member, as discussants.

At the event, Martha Ngoye delivered a speech titled The Risks and Moral Challenges of Confronting Wrongdoing: Reflections on Whistleblower Protection and the Reforms Needed to Make Accountability Safer. In her remarks, she reflects on the murder of Babita Deokaran, the legal and institutional gaps that leave whistleblowers exposed, and the reforms required to make accountability less hazardous, including stronger legal safeguards, organisational cultures that value integrity, and support from civil society and universities.

An adapted version of this speech has been published by News24 as an opinion piece, “Courage shouldn’t cost lives: protecting tomorrow’s whistleblowers”, which can be read here: