Esidimeni hearings enter final day with the central question still unanswered
As the Life Esidimeni hearings wrap up on Wednesday‚ the motive for the tragedy is still unclear. The hearings aim to find out why 1‚700 mentally ill patients were moved from three psychiatric homes into ill-equipped NGOs in 2016‚ leading to the deaths of 143 patients. The hearings were also set up to give closure and financial redress to the victims’ families. Retired Justice Dikgang Moseneke‚ who is chairing the hearings‚ told the second-last witness‚ Gauteng Premier David Makhura‚ he was still "struggling" to work out the reasons it happened. Moseneke said to Makhura: "The families are still struggling with the decisions and the real motives." Makhura said: "I am struggling with understanding the motive." "Could it be money?" asked Moseneke. Makhura said he hoped the Special Investigating Unit would shed more light on events. Makhura was in charge of the Gauteng government when the move from the homes happened in 2016. Since the very first week of the hearings in October‚ Mosenek...
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