Abstract
State capture, which came to prominence during Jacob Zuma's presidency, crippled South Africa. State-owned enterprises were looted, government resources were abused, and even policies were not free from corrupt interference , all for the gain of a relatively small collection of individuals. The whistleblowers that brought state capture to the public foreground have indeed been credited for doing so, though not without suffering reprisals. A common retaliatory tactic used against whistleblowers is that of questioning their motives, in order to draw attention away from the importance of their disclosures. Therefore, a whistleblower's motive is often a contested element. However, examining the whistleblower's motive, as well as identity , aids in better understanding the whistleblower's experience. This study specifies that three altruistic motives were present in South African state capture whistleblowers, namely: personal morality; being socialised into acting out moral behaviour; and compliance with one's role obligations. One egoistic motive, namely self-protection, was identified. This indicated that a presence of mixed motives existed. Additionally, this study found that identities grounded in a sense of historical moment and narcissism mor-alised existed within the whistleblowers. Two identities emerging from a sense of historical moment were identified. These identities reasoned making a disclosure due to a spiritual moment and being in a moment of revelation. The identity of narcissism moralised was reasoned in three distinct ways: being an honest and responsible leader; being a belligerent type that confronts dishonesty; and being a policing type.