Suspended head of the Gauteng Health Department Dr Barney Selebano is expected to find out on Monday whether or not he will be forced to testify at the Life Esidimeni hearings.
Selebano launched an urgent application in the High Court in Johannesburg in an effort to set aside a subpoena ordering him to appear at the hearings.
He made his submissions to the court last week as to why he shouldn’t be compelled to testify.
But the state opposed his application.
However, Judge Daniel Berger directed that he be excused from attending, pending his ruling on Monday.
Selebano is regarded as one of the key witnesses in the Life Esidimeni relocations that resulted in the deaths of 143 mentally ill patients.
He told the court last week that there’s no need for him to testify at the hearings as government has already accepted liability for the deaths of the psychiatric patients, and that he has already explained himself to the health Ombudsman.
The state countered by saying officials are still required to provide further details as and when they’re required to do so.
The Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings will resume after the ruling.
