Babita alleged mastermind faces arrest

A Gauteng businessman suspected of being the mastermind behind the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran is being criminally investigated for organising a hit on television actress and influencer Tebogo Thobejane.

- By Ngwako Malatji and Mzilikazi wa Afrika

The businessman, who is also criminally investigated for corrupt tenders at Prasa, cannot be named at this stage.

Well-placed sources close to Thobejane's investigation alleged that Crime Intelligence Unit members who were investigating the man's alleged involvement in looting Prasa, obtained a seizure and search warrant against him. They then descended on his houses in Pretoria and Joburg and combed them for possible incriminating evidence.

The police found and confiscated his cellphone, said the source. They downloaded the contents of the phone and stumbled upon WhatsApp messages between the businessman and the two hitmen who were arrested by the police in connection with the attempt on Thobejane's life.

It is alleged that in one of the messages, the businessman told the assassins to " shoot her in the face so that her family doesn't recognise her". Thobejane and her friend were ambushed on the Ni south highway near Sandton, Joburg, and their car was sprayed with a hail of bullets in October 2023.