Free State police whistleblower Patricia Morgan-Mashale, who has been in hiding since February last year, has fled the country to an undisclosed location.
The former administration clerk in the South African Police Service’s firearms registry division in Bloemfontein fled South Africa on Friday.
She posted on Twitter that she has finally left the country, stating that she has been turned into a fugitive, after being accused of spreading false allegations against the police.
Catch me if you can
“Catch me if u can but my voice will remain a thunder in your heads until u come clean and give SA back to its rightful owners, not your R350 slaves, I’ll be back,” she declared.
In January The Citizen reported on Morgan-Mashale’s claims that she would be dead today if it were not for efforts of a lone crime intelligence officer who risked his own career to protect her.
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The whistleblower has never been offered protection, despite three threat assessments confirming the threat to her life, recommendations that she be protected, and at least two attempts on her life after blowing the whistle on senior officers involved in corruption.
Morgan-Mashale told The Citizen her nightmare began in 2020 after reporting senior police officers alleged to be involved in corruption related to unlawful appointments, including the appointment of foreign nationals in crime intelligence, and irregular promotions.
No action was taken against those she blew the whistle on, but instead she was fired based on alleged manufactured internal charges that she participated in an illegal strike.
She is currently facing charges of harassment in a case opened against her by deputy provincial police commissioner Major-General Thabang Lesia.
Warrant of arrest
In February Morgan-Mashale refused to come out of hiding to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court in fear of her life, with her lawyer appearing on her behalf.
A warrant for her arrest has since been issued for failure to appear in court, though she said her lawyer had explained her reasons for not attending.
“On my last court appearance, it was put on record that my lawyer will represent me in court. This new magistrate refused to accept all submissions presented to her in terms of my safety,” she said.
But Morgan-Mashale believes she will most probably be killed if she were to be detained.
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The whistleblower said her personal cell phone was confiscated by the police in a search and seizure warrant issued in relation to her harassment case and has been in the possession of the SA Police Service since October 2021.
Morgan-Mashale said she opened a case of perjury, fraud and defeating the ends of justice against Lesia and another senior police officer regarding the unlawful seizure and interception.
She said the docket was handed over to the director of public prosecution in August 2022 but said there was still no decision.
Police are yet to respond to Morgan-Mashale’s claims.
SA no place for whistle-blowers
In November 2021, author, speaker and whistleblower Athol Williams fled SA after feeling unsafe following his testimony before at the Zondo Commission Inquiry into State Capture.
He fled following the murder of Gauteng Department of Health official Babita Deokaran, a key witness in several corruption investigations by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) related to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the province.
The whistleblower died in a hail of bullets outside her home in Winchester Hills, south Johannesburg on 23 August 2021 in what appeared to have been a hit.
At the time Williams said after Deokaran’s assassination, concerns were heightened as it showed that authorities were choosing not to proactively protect whistleblowers.
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