Confusion over dead and missing Esidimeni patients

1 February 2018

It is distressing that the Esidimeni arbitration hearing has concluded, but we still don’t have accurate figures for the dead and missing patients.

The police have confirmed 144 dead, but Section 27 says they have submitted affidavits concerning a further 12 bodies and Legal Aid lawyers say they have at least two more as well.

This would push the total death tally to 158, but it could be even higher as many of those who are missing could be dead as well.

I have opened 62 missing person cases with the police based on a list sent by the Gauteng Health Department to some NGOs last week.

But Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa disputed this list at the hearings, saying that there was a list of 59 missing patients that has been reduced to 55, and that 7 of these may have been found in NGOs. This would bring the missing list to 48, which is still a high number.

The confusion over lists should be cleared up as soon as possible.

But it is difficult to see how the list could be further reduced as details are missing for many patients, including names and ID numbers in some cases. In one case, for instance, a person is described merely as “Female number 1”, born in 1976.

Justice Dikgang Moseneke has given the state until Thursday next week to finalise the names and numbers of the deceased.

I agree with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi that there should be an investigation into the possible abduction or kidnapping of patients from Esidimeni as they were not properly discharged.

Every effort should be made to ascertain the fate of all those vulnerable patients whose human rights were so tragically trashed by the state.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 1 February 2018