Gauteng’s suspended head of health Tiego Selebano intends to appeal against the health ombudsman’s report into the deaths of at least 100 state mental patients that fingered him as one of the key actors in the scandal. The report found the Gauteng health department had transferred 1,300 patients from Life Esidimeni facilities owned by JSE-listed private hospital group Life Healthcare to unlicensed nongovernment organisations (NGOs) that did not have the resources to care for them. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday told Parliament an appeal would have to be made within 30 days of the publication of the health ombudsman’s report on February 1 and that it would be heard by a three-member tribunal headed by a retired judge. Selebano’s lawyer, who asked not to be named, confirmed his client would appeal. Health ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba, who was asked by the minister to investigate the patients’ deaths, told MPs that he was still receiving reports of deaths and the final f...

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