ActionSA Welcomes NPA Decision to Prosecute Individuals Implicated in Life Esidimeni Tragedy
Press Statement by Dr Kgosi Letlape MP
ActionSA Member of Parliament
ActionSA welcomes the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute individuals implicated in the Life Esidimeni tragedy, where 141 psychiatric patients lost their lives after being unlawfully transferred to unlicensed and ill-equipped facilities.
This decision, while necessary, comes far too late. Nearly a decade has passed since this avoidable tragedy unfolded, leaving families to endure prolonged grief, unanswered questions, and a justice system that has moved at an unacceptable pace. Justice delayed on this scale is justice diminished.
The 2021 inquest findings, which held former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former Mental Health Director Dr Makgabo Manamela accountable for the deaths of several patients, made it clear that this was not merely a systemic failure, but a failure of leadership, ethics, and governance.
The decision to prosecute must mark the beginning of accountability. South Africans deserve a healthcare system that protects the most vulnerable, not one that exposes them to harm through negligence and mismanagement and those who enabled this tragedy should be charged for criminal negligence.
ActionSA reiterates its call for stringent consequence management for all those responsible and institutional reform within the public healthcare system to prevent recurrence and improved oversight mechanisms to ensure that human dignity is never again so recklessly disregarded.
ActionSA Welcomes NPA Decision to Prosecute Individuals Implicated in Life Esidimeni Tragedy
ActionSA welcomes the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute individuals implicated in the Life Esidimeni tragedy, where 141 psychiatric patients lost their lives after being unlawfully transferred to unlicensed and ill-equipped facilities.
This decision, while necessary, comes far too late. Nearly a decade has passed since this avoidable tragedy unfolded, leaving families to endure prolonged grief, unanswered questions, and a justice system that has moved at an unacceptable pace. Justice delayed on this scale is justice diminished.
The 2021 inquest findings, which held former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former Mental Health Director Dr Makgabo Manamela accountable for the deaths of several patients, made it clear that this was not merely a systemic failure, but a failure of leadership, ethics, and governance.
The decision to prosecute must mark the beginning of accountability. South Africans deserve a healthcare system that protects the most vulnerable, not one that exposes them to harm through negligence and mismanagement and those who enabled this tragedy should be charged for criminal negligence.
ActionSA reiterates its call for stringent consequence management for all those responsible and institutional reform within the public healthcare system to prevent recurrence and improved oversight mechanisms to ensure that human dignity is never again so recklessly disregarded.