The Life Esidimeni inquest has once again been postponed to May after it resumed on Tuesday morning following a lengthy break.
This after the high court in Pretoria agreed to move former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu’s testimony to a later date.
Mahlangu was expected to be the last person to take the stand and testify when the inquest resumed on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the court, the postponement was necessitated by non-payment of Mahlangu’s lawyers by the state attorney.
The inquest will reveal if the implicated officials should be held criminally accountable for the deaths of 144 mental health patients after being moved to non-government organisations from Life Esidimeni facilities, as well as 21 patients who were confirmed missing since 2016.
During the former Gauteng health head of department Ephraim Selebano’s testimony, he said the decision was due to a lack of funding, alleging that the department was struggling financially when Mahlangu was in charge.
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