LAEL BETHLEHEM | Murder most foul

We South Africans may be losing our capacity to be shocked by truly horrifying things.

Recent reports of two deaths should leave us reeling:

• The first was the killing of Chinette Gallichan, a young lawyer who was representing her company at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA). Gallichan was murdered in cold blood in the street in broad daylight.
• The second was the release of the report of the Health Ombud into the death of Lerato Mohlamme, a patient in a psychiatric unit at George Mukhari Academic hospital. She died in June 2024 following an appalling pattern of abuse and neglect by the hospital and its staff.

These deaths tell us that life is cheap in South Africa. Both deaths point to the terrible failures of our state. Gallichan’s murder was almost certainly linked to the CCMA hearing she was about to attend on behalf of her employer, Sibanye-Stillwater.

Aside from the devastating personal loss to her family, this is an ominous sign for the rule of law. If employees start to believe that they can avoid disciplinary action by harming the individuals involved in managing their conduct, every employer and HR manager in the country is at risk.

If the outcome of a CCMA case is worth taking a life, the management of our workplaces becomes untenable. Private companies will start to look like so many government departments, where managers are terrified to act against errant or dishonest employees and there is zero accountability.

Gallichan’s murder calls for the highest level of response from the South African Police Service (SAPS). We need to see careful case management that will allow Gallichan’s killer or killers, and their sponsors, to be brought to book.

These two cases must be treated as priority crimes, not only to effect justice for the victims but for the viability of our society. If we fail to act on such injustice we will reach a point from which we cannot recover

The police must see this as a hugely important crime and act with urgency. We should also monitor the conduct of trade unions in such cases. If they play any role in creating the conditions for violence, they should suffer serious consequences.

The second case has similar implications for the rule of law. Mohlamme’s death was not a murder, but it might as well have been. According to the report of the Health Ombud, she died after being placed in a seclusion room, far from the nurses station, behind locked emergency doors, in freezing conditions with no heating and hardly any clothing.

Prior to this incident she had made a complaint that she had been sexually abused, subjected to prolonged restraints and that her food and medication had been withheld.

Mohlamme was failed not only by the staff directly involved in treating her, but by the management of the hospital and the provincial and national authorities. This death is part of a wider pattern of abuse and deaths of mental health patients, including the Life Esidimeni catastrophe and more recent deaths in the Northern Cape.

In most democracies this would lead to the firing of the provincial or national health minister. Aside from this, Motlamme’s case must surely require the immediate attention of the police.

Both of these cases require an effective police force, a far cry from what we have now. The summons served on national police commissioner Fannie Masemola this week is an indication of the extent of the rot, and perhaps a sign that we are beginning to get to grips with it. The acting police minister has the huge task of rebuilding the SAPS, and should receive every possible support.

Meanwhile, these two cases must be treated as priority crimes, not only to effect justice for the victims but for the viability of our society. If we fail to act on such injustice we will reach a point from which we cannot recover.

• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government. She writes in her personal capacity.