Image Source: Defend our Democracy
Pretoria – Defend Our Democracy will protest outside Pretoria’s South African Revenue Service (SARS) head office this Thursday. The protest aims to highlight the increasing violence and targeting of anti-corruption fighters and public servants by criminals and criminal syndicates.
In an interview with Salaamedia, Zaakirah Vadi, Executive Director at Defend Our Democracy, explained that this protest is a direct response to the recent wave of assassination attempts and murders of investigators and whistleblowers, including the distressing case of Advocate Coreth Naude, who survived an attempted assassination while investigating a high-profile corruption case.
Furthermore, the protest is a powerful demonstration of our solidarity with these courageous individuals who, despite the grave dangers, continue to unearth the truth and fight against corruption.
“So, as a civil society organisation involved in this space, we decided that we do need to go to SARS. We want to stand outside in solidarity with Advocate Coreth Naude, as well as these two other individuals, but also other investigators in the state who have been doing immense work to uncover wrongdoing or allegations of wrongdoing but have been killed in the process.
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The Significance of the Protest Site
The selection of SARS as the protest site is symbolic, as Advocate Naude was investigating a case connected to the Revenue Service at the time of the attempt on her life. By gathering outside SARS, protestors aim to remind those working within and other state entities that they are not alone in the fight against corruption at all levels.
Vadi, therefore, urges widespread public participation in the protests to demonstrate collective support for those who risk their lives in the name of justice and to emphasise that the people of South Africa will not be intimidated by criminals.
“Members of the public are more than welcome to join us. In fact, you are encouraged to join us because these are people who are serving the public interest in the various state institutions in which they are working.”
“As the public, I think we need to send a stronger message that we can’t be intimidated into silence, and we can’t allow investigators to cower in the face of their work simply because there are threats at hand.”
