Home

I did my best to protect Esidimeni patients: Jacobus

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Deputy Director for Mental Health Services in Gauteng does not believe she should resign over the bungled Life Esidimeni tragedy which resulted in the deaths of 143 psychiatric patients.

Despite admitting to flouting procedures with regards to the issuing of licenses to NGOs, Hannah Jacobus told the arbitration hearings in Johannesburg that she did her best to protect the patients.

She blamed her former boss Dr Makgabo Manamela, who resigned on Wednesday as Gauteng Mental Health Director for instructing her to carry out unlawful activities.

Jacobus escaped with a final written warning following a disciplinary hearing.

However, arbitrator retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke is not convinced that is sufficient.

“But isn’t this disaster, so big that you should be falling on our sword. That a rational human being should be saying, I am obliged to resign, to show remorse and to show accountability?” Moseneke asked.

Jacobus responded, “I am very saddened about what happened. I am still going through that, and what I’ve done during the process of the project, trying everything, working 24 hours day in and day out, at different NGOs doing what I can to assist patients.”

Click video below:

Author

MOST READ