Abstract
The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture grabbed public attention as the
testimony presented played out in the full glare of live television feeds. At the centre
of the revelations were whistleblowers. As the whistleblowers' allegations piled up, it
became evident that what had unfolded was not isolated cases of corruption but a
whole political system that was ensnared. This capture, it was argued, was designed
to repurpose state institutions so that looting could be “legitimised” through officials
who either looked the other way or were complicit in the corruption.
Central to piercing this veil of corruption and exposing its systematic nature were
whistleblowers whose testimonies provided the core of the Public Protector’s State of
Capture Report and ultimately put in motion the Zondo Commission of Inquiry. This
inquiry has, in turn, contributed to revelations about state capture entering the public
domain and has itself recently culminated in a report (with recommendations)
regarding the matter. The report paid homage to the role of whistleblowers.
However, despite the headlines, little is known about whistleblowers’ motivations, the
impact on their lives and the nature and quality of the support they received from civil
society. This thesis investigated these issues using a qualitative approach
encompassing two research methods. The first used documents as sources of data,
while the other entailed semi-structured interviews conducted with whistleblowers and
members of civil society organisations.
Motives and identity played an important role in influencing whistleblowers to make
their disclosures. Once having made their disclosures, the whistleblowers faced a
scatter-gun of push-back that ranged from lawfare to workplace ostracism and the
spectre of physical retaliation. Legislation did not offer them adequate protection
against these forms of retaliation.
The study showed civil society coming to the aid of whistleblowers by providing three
broad forms of support. Defensive support, occurring post-disclosure, entailed the
protection of the whistleblowers by providing them legal, financial, and security aid, as
well as protecting their identities. Emotional support, provided during disclosure,
entailed helping whistleblowers to cope by assisting them through informal counselling
and assurance. Offensive support, applicable pre-disclosure, entailed the public
exposure of the wrongdoing by advocating for whistleblowers, getting the media
interested in the whistleblowers’ narratives and raising public support. The findings of
the study and previous work enabled the development of a framework for
whistleblower survival strategies.