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Manamela to continue testifying at Life Esidimeni Inquest

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The former head of the Gauteng Mental Health Services Dr Mmakgabo Manamela will on Thursday continue to clarify her role in the 2016 mass relocation of the mentally-ill patients from Life Esidimeni.

The inquest will continue in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Manamela said that they occasionally received reports that patients had died during the relocation.

She however denied suggestions that her department ignored such reports.

The inquest is probing the deaths of the 144 mentally-ill patients during their relocation to ill-equipped and unlicenced NGOs across Gauteng.

This after the Gauteng Health Department ended the Life Esidimeni contract citing budgetary constraints.

Through and interpreter, Manamela responded to a question of one of the evidence leaders, Advocate Adila Hassim.

Adv Hassim: “And if we just look at the number [of people] who passed on at the NGOs and Cullinan Care. Is 12 at the NGOs and 11 at Cullinan … did you do, or follow up in relation to the deaths?

Manamela: “Yes, we sent some people [and] our board to go investigate what the problem was.”

VIDEO I Most patients were relocated to Pretoria, says Dr Manamela:

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