The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) welcomes the court’s decision that found the former Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, and the former Head of Mental Health Services, Makgabo Manamela, liable for the deaths of the mental health patients who died when they were irregularly moved from Life Esidimeni to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that were ill-equipped to handle the patients.
SAFTU calls on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to institute culpable homicide charges and begin prosecuting Mahlangu and Manamela. Other individuals, including directors of those NGOs, must also be investigated and prosecuted, though this might be impeded by lack of evidence.
The Judge found that Mahlangu and Manamela could be held liable for 8 patients, out of 144 that reportedly died. However, we maintain that the rest of the patients who died due to gross neglect and starvation should be traced back to the decisions taken to move them out of Life Esidimeni Hospital. Therefore, the former MEC and the former head should still be held liable for the deaths of the rest of the patients.
In their defence, Manamela and Mahlangu argue that the decision to move the patients from Life Esidimeni to NGOs was not solely taken by them, but by the provincial budget committee, which involves the former Gauteng Premier, David Makhura. This means that more of the Gauteng government officials, including the premier, should be held liable.
That the provincial budget committee decided to move the patients is also revealing. It reveals that the fiscal austerity policy that the ANC government was so obsessed with contributed to the deaths of these patients because the decision was taken as a cost-cutting measure. For instance, the Gauteng provincial government was spending R320 per patient per day at Life Esidimeni (which was already dismal compared to other hospitals) but reduced this to R112 per patient per day at the 27 NGOs where the patients were transferred. This is more than a 200% reduction in spending per patient. Evidently, fiscal austerity contributed to the deaths of these health patients, as it does to many patients who die in hospitals due to lack of staff, infrastructure, equipment, and medicine.
This argument to hold liable the executive heads of Gauteng Health at the time is not a free pass for the NGOs that accepted the patients, and in whose watch the patients perished. Thus SAFTU supports Section 27’s insistence that the owner of the Precious Angels NGO, Ethel Ncube, should be held liable. Further, we want all the executive directors of the NGOs such as Siyabadinga, Takalani, Tshepong, Hephzibah, etc., to be held liable for their gross negligence that caused the death of the patients.
From the court’s ruling, it is clear that the NGOs were not properly equipped. They were not equipped with staff that had the necessary experience to provide adequate care, adequate infrastructure and other necessary resources. That some patients ended up dying of starvation means supervision and management of resources including procurement of nutritious food was severely bungled.
Many deaths could have been avoided if the patients had received proper care. SAFTU is grateful that Section 27 pressed forward in pursuit of justice for the deceased and their families. Families, and the nation at large, have long sought answers and justice for their loved ones, who suffered due to neglect. Only prosecution and eventual sentencing of those liable can bring the families of the deceased and the nation nearer to closure.
