The families of Life Esidimeni victims are confident that justice will prevail when an inquest concludes.
A number of officials who testified in the hearings into Life Esidimeni deaths, which took place in the high court in Pretoria, shift the blame and point fingers at each other.
The inquest into Life Esidimeni is looking into deaths of 144 mental health patients. Twenty-one other patients remain missing since 2016.
In May, judge Jowie Teffo adjourned the proceedings for lawyers to submit their arguments in October.
Life Esidimeni Family Committee member Christine Nxumalo said hope has been restored to the families.
This after a report from the health ombudsman showed how credible the officials that are running the process are.
“The comfort came from the manner in which the judge did not allow for her to be abused, and did not give in for people to manipulate the process,” said Nxumalo.
“She made sure that people’s rights were adhered to, so that there is no comeback or appeals when she makes the ruling.”
Even though Nxumalo said the process has been a lengthy and emotional one, she noted that the families appreciated that uncomfortable questions were asked.
“Compared to when they testified during arbitration, what was different with this process is that there was a lot more information that came out.
“It was clear for us where the blame should be.”
Nxumalo said the blame cannot be shouldered by one individual. “We do not want any appeals from people saying they were not given enough amount of time,” she said.
She added that the families are cautiously optimistic and grateful that the process has taken place.
“There were times where we were pulling our hair out of our heads, we were infuriated because the inquest revealed exactly how some of our family members lost their lives.
“The post-mortem part of it really hit hard.
“If that was not enough evidence to show how deliberate the attempts were to harm, deny, hide, defy and cover up, then I do not know what else is there.”
In May, former MEC for health in Gauteng Qedani Mahlangu testified that she does not know if she was misled intentionally.
“I was misled, but what I am not certain about is whether I was misled intentionally, or I was misled with an intention for people to commit negligence,” she told the court.
The inquest aims to test if the implicated officials should be held criminally accountable for the deaths of 144 Life Esidimeni patients.
Some of the officials who testified are former Gauteng premier David Makhura, former Gauteng health HOD Dr Ephraim Selebano, and former Gauteng mental health head Dr Makgabo Manamela.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
