Members of the Esidimeni Bereaved Families’ Committee say the slow pace of delivering justice is making it practically impossible for them to find closure after losing their loved ones.
The committee will on Saturday host a healing session in Johannesburg. The aim is for all bereaved families to support each other and remember their loved ones.
This is the first gathering in more than two years because the families could not meet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Life Esidimeni tragedy involved the deaths of 144 mentally-ill patients facilities in Gauteng from causes including starvation and neglect. The High Court in Pretoria is currently holding an inquest into the possibility of establishing criminal liability for the deaths of the patients following their removal from Life Esidemeni to ill equipped and unlicensed NGOs in 2016.
A committee member, Christine Nxumalo, says they desperately need closure.
“The fact that it’s so slow, is painful and it hurts and it makes recovery and getting over it and healing more difficult. But the fact that there is movement is encouraging. One of the things in South Africa, with justice moving so slow, it doesn’t deter people from doing the wrong thing. This is what we worry about, that if the vulnerable can die in such a horrific way, but when justice has to take place, it takes so long. But, we can’t give up and I think it’s the one one thing that keeps us going, is that we can’t afford to give up,” says Nxumalo.
Transfer of Life Esidimeni mental health patients was not handled with the care it deserved: Expert
In March 2022, Mental Health Care Expert Professor Abel Pienaar said the transfer of mental health patients from the Life Esidimeni facilities to other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was not handled with the care it deserved.
Video | Life Esidimeni Inquest: Professor Pienaar cross-examined
The hearing considered whether anyone can be held criminally liable for the deaths of 144 mental health patients who were transferred from Life Esidimeni to unregistered NGOs.
Pienaar said patients were transported in large numbers during the transfer process and that compromised their mental and physical health conditions.
“Mental health care users need a certain level of holistic care and the comfort can only be reached when there’s an assessment that’s closer to the expectation of the health care user that can be adhered to, and if not met, it could be to the detriment of the health care user. I would concur with that,” said Pienaar.
Video | Nursing expert says facilities used to accommodate mentally ill patients lacked resources