The burden of the Life Esidimeni case

A collage of the Life Esidimeni victims and their families. Pictures: Mark Lewis/lifeesidimeni.org.za It’s nearly 10 years since the Life Esidimeni tragedy, yet the wound remains raw. Families still carry the memory of loved ones who were moved like parcels from Life Esidimeni care centres into ill-equipped non-governmental organisations under the Gauteng department of health.

Between 2015 and 2016, psychiatric patients were transferred in the name of “cost-cutting” and “deinstitutionalisation”, only to die of neglect, starvation and indignity. It is, therefore, a relief that theNational Prosecuting Authority will prosecute those implicatedin the tragedy. Behind the statistics –144 lives lostand 44 others reported missing – are names, faces and shocking stories.

Mothers who never saw their loved ones return. Sisters who buried brothers in silence. Fathers who still clutch faded pictures.

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Reports were written, hearings were held and compensation paid. But families know that justice cannot be reduced to paperwork. They remember the phone calls that went unanswered, the bodies of those who starved, the indignity of being told their loved ones were “better off” in places that turned out to be death traps.

Justice must begin by acknowledging the humanity of those who died, not just the liability of those who signed the papers. Criminal charges are essential. Former Gauteng MEC for healthQedani Mahlangu, former director of mental health care services Dr Makgabo Manamela and other senior officials must face trial.

But justice is not only about punishment, it is about restoring dignity. Families deserve to see the state admit, without evasion, that their loved ones were betrayed. They deserve memorials that honour the dead, not just court dates that drag on.

They deserve to know that their pain has reshaped the system so no other family suffers the same fate. Extensive reform must be written in human terms. It is not enough to tighten licensing rules or restructure oversight committees.

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