Esidimeni: excuses infuriate judge

28 November 2017 - 06:28 By Katharine Child
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Retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke is heading the arbitration hearings between the State and the families of victims in the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
Retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke is heading the arbitration hearings between the State and the families of victims in the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
Image: ALON SKUY/THE TIMES

The senior Gauteng health department official who signed off on the relocation of Life Esidimeni psychiatric patients to NGOs not equipped to care for them just did not "get it" - the enormity of the failure - she was told on Monday by retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, who is chairing the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings.

Moseneke pushed Dr Makgabo Manamela, Gauteng's suspended director of mental health services, on the fourth day of her testimony to face up to the fatal consequences of her actions.

Manamela, a psychiatric nurse, signed licences giving underfunded, inexperienced and badly-equipped NGOs permission to look after severely mentally-ill patients - and allegedly as a result 143 patients died.

When the Gauteng health department cancelled its contract with Life Esidimeni 1712 patients had to be transferred.

"You were making a decision about other people's lives ... people whose lives may be enhanced or lost," Moseneke told Manamela.

"I want you to appreciate that you were given power by a law . to make certain decisions that would affect the lives of patients. You exercised that power and the result is that the patients died.

"Can you see that connection?"

She replied: "My response is, even if there is a procedural error, the NGO was assessed."

She said she gave NGOs licences based on her teams' inspections.

"The procedural error I am not disputing," she said, admitting that the dates appearing on the licences were fraudulent.

Moseneke responded: "You do not get it."

Manamela retorted: "I get it."

The retired judge was incredulous.

"It still goes over your head what a big omission it is that led to ... deaths."

Manamela responded that there could be many reasons for the deaths.

"It might be that the NGOs were not as qualified as [the inspection team] was saying."

Evidence has been led that NGOs did not get funding from the department for four months, had no food, no blankets, no access to doctors and no money with which to hire skilled employees.

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