Seven years have passed since the Life Esidimeni tragedy unfolded in which at least 144 people died after the Gauteng health department transferred more than 1,500 psychiatric patients from private facilities to unlicensed and ill-equipped non-governmental organisations.
Lest we forget. These were people who had been stable and well cared for at Life Esidimeni. Within weeks of their transfer they were dying of starvation and neglect. Their grieving families have endured an investigation by the health ombudsman and an arbitration hearing, and are now in the throes of a serially delayed inquest. Throughout it all former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu has steadfastly refused to accept responsibility for the gross human rights abuses that took place under her watch, maintaining she did not know the NGOs lacked the wherewithal to care for the patients, despite repeated warnings from clinicians and non-governmental organisations.
Whether the inquest will provide enough evidence for the National Prosecuting Authority to level criminal charges against Mahlangu and the officials who carried out her orders remains to be seen. But if the ANC-led government wants to convince us that its new mental health policy is worth anything more than the paper it is written on, it must ensure she never holds high office again.
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