A Pretoria non-governmental organisation (NGO) contracted to take in mentally ill patients from Life Esidimeni reportedly gave private burials for those who died, without telling the patients’ families. According to the DA‚ six patients at Tshepong NGO had private funerals. "Ms Karina Morale‚ who runs the Tshepong NGO in Pretoria‚ has admitted that her organisation buried six of the 10 patients who died there‚" DA MP Jack Bloom said. "She says the Gauteng Health Department knows they gave them private burials rather than pauper burials so they could show any family members where they were buried‚ but she won’t reveal where they are buried." The NGO claims to have failed to contact the families of patients who died as they had been transferred from Life Esidimeni without records, but both the health department and the office of Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi claim to have been unaware of this. "We are not aware of this and we just heard of this on our WhatsApp group‚" said national...

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