At work the following morning Njabulo is just going through the motions with his other stories. When he shows David news reports for his approval the tension between boss and employee could be cut with a knife. Njabulo still can’t believe that David is backing off from this important story and forsaking the truth.

Luckily he has to cover the Municipality’s Clean Drive so he is soon out of the office for most of the day, otherwise the tension he feels would spill over and harsh words would be said. Texts from Joy help him get through the day.

He just left. Will wait 10 minutes then snoop.
Am snooping, found a building plan but can’t
make out what’s what. Sending pic now.

Njabulo looks at the plan but it is not clear on the small screen of his phone.

Cool, will download when I get to the office.
Will be clear on computer screen.

Later in the day Joy texts:

Nothing else, been looking. Drawer is locked.
Have good mind to break the lock LOL.

He replies:

LOL don’t break lock, don’t break the law.
Will be in touch after I download.

In the NUZ FM offices the plan turns out to be just an extension to a house. Njabulo is about to tell Joy the bad news when he gets another message from her.

Bingo! I have pulled a magic trick. He returned
to office. Left keys on the table while he was in
loo, I managed to open the padlock. From a
distance it looks locked but not so. Meet me
at 6, by nearby taxi rank. We r in!

After work they meet at the taxi rank as agreed, then sneak into Councillor Mlaba’s office and lock the door behind them. It is dark so they use only the screens of their phone for light, as they hurriedly search the files.

They find gold: Njabulo lets out a quiet whistle and photographs the pages with the incriminating evidence. The original budget for the project is five million rand but sifting through the documentation reveals that only three million rand will be used, and only two thirds of the original plan will be built. Why?

“Now this is the kind of concrete proof I was talking about!” he says.

He’s barely finished this sentence when they hear voices approaching outside the office. They look into each other’s eyes and gesture each other to be quiet. A key slides into the office door. There is a tiny space between the corner walls and the office cabinet of drawers but by the time the door opens, Njabulo and Joy have squeezed into it, out of the line of sight from the Councillor’s desk. They are squashed so snug that they feel each other’s heartbeats. They turn their phones to silent mode.

The light comes on and two chairs shuffle. Njabulo and Joy recognise one voice as belonging to Councillor Mlaba, as the men pick up on a conversation.

“Yes, Councillor, the problem has been contained. None of the injured workers will lay a complaint. We at DZA Construction know how to cover our tracks,” says the voice they don’t know.

Njabulo switches on the voice recorder. Joy is right on top of him – her lips are on his neck, he feels her breath and every heartbeat.

“It is crucial that our tracks are covered. I was also having a little problem with a journalist from a local radio station sniffing around for a story but he has been sorted out. It is all systems go. Now, let’s get on with the business of today. I believe R750 000 is a fair amount for me,” says Councillor Mlaba.

“No, Councillor. Let’s make your share one million. The floating two million rand must be shared between DZA and you. I can transfer your payment right now if you have your banking details handy,” says the DZA Construction man.

“Excellent. I have my details on my phone,” says Councillor Mlaba.

The keys to a laptop are punched swiftly and a message alert tone rings.

“The wonders of modern technology,” beams Councillor Mlaba. “In seconds a million rand has jumped from your account to mine. This calls for a celebration and I am buying!” They both burst out laughing.

Two chairs shuffle on carpet, keys tinkle. The two men are leaving.

“Now you see why I prefer foreign labour, Councillor? They can be controlled. Local labour is expensive and all they know is complaining and telling you about their so-called rights,” says the DZA man.

“True, I see your point,” says Councillor Mlaba as he locks the office door.

Njabulo and Joy wait a while, squashed in their hiding place in the corner, their racing heartbeats now slowing as the danger passes. They only wriggle out after they have heard two cars start and their engine sounds disappearing.

“Shew! That was a close call. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

His hands shaking, Njabulo plays the recording. It is crystal clear.

“Yes, we got him!” exclaims Joy while trading high fives and a hug with Njabulo.

*****

Early the next morning Njabulo walks into David’s office with the recording and photographs of the altered building plans and budget. Saying nothing, he lays down the plans, and solemnly sets the recording playing. David listens, rubbing his chin, staring at the floor. At the end he looks up at Njabulo.

“I have changed my mind. You’ve changed my mind. We have to go public with this. They can do whatever they want to our funding but it will be hard to fault our actions in light of such incriminating evidence. Truth is truth,” says David.

*****

Within a day David has the ear of the Mayor who asks them to bring over the evidence. Njabulo allows himself a grin of pride as the Mayor shakes both their hands after listening to the recording. He wastes no time: one call to the Hawks and Councillor Mlaba’s tower of corruption starts tumbling down.

Joy is listening to NUZ FM news two days later.

“In today’s news,” says the newsreader, “We bring you a NUZ FM investigation that has uncovered major corruption in the Ward 84 Community Centre project. Alerted by the collapse of a wall resulting in injuries on the building site, NUZ FM news reporter, Njabulo Msane, has since uncovered corruption running into millions of rand. He discovered that Ward 84 Councillor, Jonas Mlaba, was receiving kickbacks from DZA Construction, who also cut corners and bypassed basic safety protocols on their site. The Hawks have issued arrest warrants for Councillor Mlaba and DZA Construction CEO, Mr Clive Singh. Durban Mayor…”

Joy types a message to Njabulo:

Hey, Mr Investigative Journalist. Let’s do lunch.

I may have another hot story for you.

***

Tell us: How do you judge David Ndlovu for first preferring to ensure that his own and his employees’ jobs were safe, rather than revealing the dangerous truth?

***

Do you know cases of corruption in your community where people weren’t given accurate information?