Open Secrets Newsletter | A luta continua!
The struggle continues, victory is certain!
March 2025
Every year on March 21st, South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day. Every year, we find ourselves lamenting how much we still have to fight for basic human rights. Whether the state and military is (allegedly) killing committed public servants like Frans Mathipa, mercilessly neglecting artisanal miners’ right to live and earn a living at Stilfontein, or violently quashing student protests for free and equal education – state-sponsored violence continues with little to no accountability.
What might the national conversations be if March 21st was called Sharpeville Massacre Day, or if June 16th was Soweto Uprising Day instead of Youth Day? What if instead of white-washing state violence, we named it and fought against it everyday vociferously? Renaming these days might not make any substantial moves in contending with the long shadow of state repression and the police brutality that continues till this day, but it would be a start. We can start with calling injustice out: boldly, loudly and with the courage of those who fought for our right to be able to protest.
This newsletter is about Open Secrets’ bold commitment to truth, and speaking it loudly and courageously no matter who seeks to silence it.
Open Secrets at Human Rights Festival
Last year, South Africa took a bold stand on the global stage by launching an ICJ case against Israel over the genocide in Gaza. But is the country applying the same principles to its own domestic arms trade?
Continuing the conversation from our work on the National Conventional Arms Control Committee’s (NCACC) failure to track where South African weapons end up, Open Secrets lawyer Abongile Nkamisa, senior investigator Ra’eesa Pather, and Director of the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) Anneke Meerkotter were at The 2025 Human Rights Festival in Johannesburg discussing the role of South African arms manufacturers in global conflicts like Yemen, gaps in arms trade enforcement and accountability, and the impact of South Africa’s arms exports on human rights.
The panel explored the complexities of South Africa’s arms industry, its regulatory inconsistencies, and the ethical dilemmas of arms sales to conflict zones. In Open Secrets’ investigation on potential arms sales to countries supplying arms to Israel we wrote:
“Even if South Africa’s weapons are not directly transferred on to Israel, they may well be used to refill the stockpiles of Germany and other countries that have supplied and in some instances are still supplying Israel with weapons. If this was the case, South African exports would in effect contribute to enabling Israel’s suppliers to continue arming Israel.”
CSWG Workshop
On 11 March 2025, Open Secrets as the Secretariat of the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) hosted a workshop in Johannesburg. The purpose of the meeting was to re-strategise the priorities of civil society organisations working on addressing state capture, and map out what accountability might look like in the GNU era. The CSWG will be working together on ongoing state capture and corruption related campaigns throughout the year. Accountability for state capture has not been achieved, so our advocacy won’t stop!
Protect Whistleblowers!
The Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and the National Anti Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) hosted the conference ‘Strengthening Whistleblower Protection Mechanisms in South Africa’ on 5-6 March 2025. The discussions at the conference highlighted the urgent need for legal reforms and the practical steps necessary to create a safer environment for whistleblowers in South Africa.
Open Secrets Director, Hennie van Vuuren, spoke in a session on Extending Protection to Third Parties and Entities Supporting Whistleblowers which focused on protection beyond the whistleblower to include legal entities, media, and investigators that support them.
Whistleblowers play a crucial role in exposing corruption and misconduct within government and in the private sector, and without robust protections, they often face retaliation that can jeopardize their safety and career. We are encouraged by the growing support for reforming South Africa’s whistleblower protection laws, which would ensure that those who speak out against injustice are shielded from harm. However, despite all the talk, the Department of Justice and Presidency has dragged its heels in finalising draft whistleblower legislation for comment. We believe this lackadaisical approach must be challenged. Whistleblowers are in the firing line and require adequate and urgent protection by the State.
Nibble the rich? A case for taxing the wealthiest South Africans
“Last year, the six wealthiest South Africans (all dollar billionaires) added R80 billion to their wealth. A two percent wealth tax on just these six people could have raised R11-billion, more than two years of the NPA’s annual budget,” – Michael Marchant, Head of Investigations at Open Secrets.
In a now-controversial (but really shouldn’t be) op-ed, Michael Marchant makes the case for a wealth tax on South Africa’s super rich as a key to addressing inequality. If we are to right the wrongs of apartheid, addressing inequality is a human rights imperative.
In The Media
- WATCH | NPA shouldn’t be here – Open Secrets’ Michael Marchant on Newzroom Afrika
- LISTEN | #ShutDownEverywhereYouGo report – Open Secrets investigator Abby May on SAFM
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