Judgment in Life Esidimeni inquest expected on Wednesday
National Prosecuting Authority to decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment
09 July 2024 - 19:35
by Tamar Kahn
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Family members at the Life Esidimeni arbitrations in Parktown, Johannesburg. Picture: ALAISTER RUSSELL
The high court in Pretoria is expected to hand down judgment on Wednesday in the Life Esidimeni inquest, potentially opening the way for criminal charges to be laid against key players in the catastrophic transfer eight years ago of state mental health patients from private facilities to ill-equipped and unlicensed non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
An investigation by the health ombud into the scandal found 141 people died of neglect after the Gauteng health department moved more than 1,700 stable mental health patients from Life Esidimeni facilities to a host of underresourced NGOs, where they were deprived of food, heating and medical care.
The investigation was followed by an arbitration hearing, which concluded the rights of the patients and their families had been blatantly disregarded and directed the Gauteng provincial government to pay each family R1.2m in damages.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) launched an inquest into the Life Esidimeni tragedy in July 2021 seeking to determine whether anyone should be held criminally liable for the deaths of the 141 people who did not survive the Gauteng health department’s “mental health marathon project”.
The NPA is expected to decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment is delivered.
Public interest law centre Section 27, which represented the families of 44 of the patients who died, argued during the inquest that former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, former head of mental health services Makgabo Manamela and the owner of the NGO Precious Angels Ethel Ncube should be charged with culpable homicide. It said these patients had died in conditions of “extreme neglect”: many were emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from bed sores.
Section 27 said Mahlangu had taken the decision to terminate the Gauteng health department’s contract with Life Esidimeni and pressed ahead with plans to relocate the patients despite repeated warnings from healthcare professionals and activists about the risks of doing so.
It told the court that Ncube knowingly operated an unlicensed NGO, housed patients in squalid and inhumane conditions and continued to accept patients without adequate staff, facilities or resources to care for them.
Legal representatives for the officials argued they were not responsible for the deaths of the patients.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Judgment in Life Esidimeni inquest expected on Wednesday
National Prosecuting Authority to decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment
The high court in Pretoria is expected to hand down judgment on Wednesday in the Life Esidimeni inquest, potentially opening the way for criminal charges to be laid against key players in the catastrophic transfer eight years ago of state mental health patients from private facilities to ill-equipped and unlicensed non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
An investigation by the health ombud into the scandal found 141 people died of neglect after the Gauteng health department moved more than 1,700 stable mental health patients from Life Esidimeni facilities to a host of underresourced NGOs, where they were deprived of food, heating and medical care.
The investigation was followed by an arbitration hearing, which concluded the rights of the patients and their families had been blatantly disregarded and directed the Gauteng provincial government to pay each family R1.2m in damages.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) launched an inquest into the Life Esidimeni tragedy in July 2021 seeking to determine whether anyone should be held criminally liable for the deaths of the 141 people who did not survive the Gauteng health department’s “mental health marathon project”.
The NPA is expected to decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment is delivered.
Public interest law centre Section 27, which represented the families of 44 of the patients who died, argued during the inquest that former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, former head of mental health services Makgabo Manamela and the owner of the NGO Precious Angels Ethel Ncube should be charged with culpable homicide. It said these patients had died in conditions of “extreme neglect”: many were emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from bed sores.
Section 27 said Mahlangu had taken the decision to terminate the Gauteng health department’s contract with Life Esidimeni and pressed ahead with plans to relocate the patients despite repeated warnings from healthcare professionals and activists about the risks of doing so.
It told the court that Ncube knowingly operated an unlicensed NGO, housed patients in squalid and inhumane conditions and continued to accept patients without adequate staff, facilities or resources to care for them.
Legal representatives for the officials argued they were not responsible for the deaths of the patients.
kahnt@businesslive.co.za
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READ: Full report on the death of psychiatric patients
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