Murder highlights plight of whistle-blowers

On 18 October 2020, the half-charred body of a man was discovered in the sugarcane fields alongside a stream near the village of Moka in Mauritius. The victim was identified as Soopramanien Kistnen, a construction contractor and former member of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant – the majority in the country’s ruling coalition. It later emerged that before his death, Kistnen was about to expose a corruption scandal involving the government’s purchase of PPE. So it appears that Kistnen’s death may not have been a senseless crime, but rather an indication of the dangers faced by anyone willing to blow the whistle on corruption (or any other type of crime). In a Daily Maverick analysis, Richard Chelin notes that while Mauritius ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime in 2003, the country doesn’t have whistle-blower protection legislation. ‘The only reference to a form of such protection is found in section 49 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (2002), which provides the whistle-blower with immunity from civil or criminal liability. The result is that whistle-blowing happens at people’s own risk, as demonstrated in the Kistnen case. It is essential for countries like Mauritius, often perceived as one of Africa’s best-governed nations, to protect current and future whistle-blowers. A first step is undoubtedly adopting appropriate legislation. Following that could be implementing comprehensive institutionalised protection systems to prevent others from needlessly losing their lives.’