DA presses NPA for a time frame of Esidimeni prosecutions
16 July 2024
The Democratic Alliance has studied the full 196-page Life Esidimeni Inquest judgement, and we will be pressing the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to lay a broad range of charges within a tight time frame.
It is significant that Judge Mmonoa Teffo accepted that earlier evidence from Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s arbitration in this matter could be accepted as part of the inquest proceedings.
There is an enormous amount of testimony that should be used to prosecute not only former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and Mental Health Director Makgabo Manamela, who were found liable for the deaths of nine people, but others implicated in the suffering of the hundreds of mental patients sent to unsuitable NGOs.
Mahlangu and Manamela should be charged with culpable homicide, but there were also many contraventions of the Mental Health Care Act (MHCA) and the National Health Act (NHA), which have severe penalties for negligent treatment.