The deaths of 144 mentally ill patients during their relocation from Life Esidimeni facilities to ill-equipped non-government organisations were unfortunate and deeply regrettable, according to former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.
Mahlangu virtually appeared before the high court in Pretoria on Tuesday to give evidence in the Life Esidimeni inquest.
The inquest aims to determine if anyone can be held criminally liable for the deaths of patients during the June 2016 relocation.
Mahlangu told the court that the loss of lives was one of the most painful incidents in the history of healthcare in South Africa, noting that she hopes her testimony will help families who lost their loved ones find closure.
“The reason behind the removal of the patients was part of reintegrating them into communities to be part and parcel of society rather than leaving them locked up in institutions as per international best practice,” she said.
Mahlangu further expressed her condolences to the families of the deceased patients, adding that she found the department’s finances in a precarious state when she became the MEC for health in 2009.
She also highlighted that the situation had not improved when she was redeployed to the department in 2014.
According to Mahlangu, the department had been put under section 8 of the Public Finance Management Act to be assisted by Treasury with extra resources.
The inquest has heard that Mahlangu was responsible for the removal of mentally ill patients from Life Esidimeni and ended the contract with the facility citing budgetary constraints.
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