The most senior official involved in the Life Esidimeni tragedy‚ Dr Makgoba Manamela‚ took the stand at the arbitration hearing on Monday to explain her role in events leading to 143 mentally ill patients dying. She contradicted herself on the stand and was told frequently by Judge Dikgang Moseneke to speak slowly and answer questions. Manamela had to be subpoenaed twice before she would appear after her lawyers had found an error on the first subpoena. Her lawyer‚ Lerato Mashilane‚ delayed proceedings by four hours‚ by asking for a postponement in what was called a "wholly unprepared" submission. Moseneke asked the fumbling lawyer: "How long have you been practising?" Moseneke dismissed the request for a postponement after saying he had exercised "extreme patience". Manamela, who has a PhD in psychiatric nursing, was found by the health ombudsman to have written invalid licences for ill-equipped and inexperienced NGOs to look after severely mentally ill patients‚ who later died. So...
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