The High Court in Pretoria will now prepare for heads of argument in the Life Esidimeni inquest on a date yet to be announced. This after the court’s conclusion of its hearings on Friday.
The inquest is probing the deaths of about 144 mentally-ill patients. Most of them died after they were moved from Life Esidimeni facilities to ill-equipped and unlicensed NGOs in 2016.
Expert witness and Life Esidimeni whistle-blower, Professor Lesley Robertson said that some of the mentally-ill patients died of pneumonia, a lack of medication and extreme weight loss.
The Gauteng Health Department shut down the Life Esidimeni facilities citing budgetary constraints.
“I would suggest that people who are of the opinion that evidence has been heard in this court, that a specific person or persons in terms of paragraph D on the inquest record; in other words if whether someone is responsible or criminally responsible for the deaths of each of the deceased, those people provide heads of arguments,” explains Pieter Luyt the evidence leader.
Life Esidimeni Inquiry | Whistleblower Prof. Lesley Robertson’s testimony: Nozintombi Miya
