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Trio crimes (house robberies, business robberies, and car hijackings) - contact crimes that are the most feared as they cause significant trauma and personal threat due to their violent nature - also received a high conviction rate.
The families demand expedited prosecution proceedings, comprehensive accountability, and regular updates
The NPA has assured families of Life Esidimeni victims that it is taking the case seriously, following demands for expedited justice and accountability for those responsible.
Three months is a long time for these families not to have been given a word by the prosecution authority about the way forward.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group, Section27, and other interested parties, urged the NPA to take action against those implicated in the deaths.
The NPA said the outcome of the inquest does not necessarily equate to a trial ready case, as there may be additional criminal investigations that need to be conducted.
About 19 patients from the the Vutlhari Old Age and Disability Centre, in Sekgosese, Limpopo, has been moved to other facilities following the uncovering of violations of human rights for people living with disabilities and inhumane living conditions.
Fani Tsela, Conty Lebepe Foundation’s spokesperson, described the conditions at the centre as akin to the “Life Esidimeni saga, Round Two, in Limpopo Province”.
Explores ongoing struggle for better mental healthcare in South Africa
The Life Esidimeni tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of over 100 mental health patients in Gauteng Province, highlights severe lapses in South Africa's healthcare system and the government's failure to uphold constitutional rights for the mentally ill.
Qedani Mahlangu and Makgabo Manamela will only be charged for the Life Esidimeni tragedy if the NPA finds evidence.
The NPA will decide on the next step after judgment was handed down in the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
It is now up to the National Prosecuting Authority to decide whether they should be prosecuted on charges of culpable homicide.
While the judge implicated Mahlangu and Manamela as having caused the deaths of the patients through their negligence, it is now up to the NPA to decide whether they should be prosecuted on charges of culpable homicide
Judge Mmonoa Teffo said that evidence presented showed that Mahlangu and Dr Manamela should be held responsible for the negligence which led to the deaths of the patients.
Public Service Commission wants lessons to be learnt from the Life Esidimeni tragedy and the capturing of the state
Department must pay NPOs which signed service-level agreements by May
NGOs in the Gauteng province were forced to take the Department of Social Development to court on an urgent application as a result of the delays in funding and subsidies for the past two months.
What happened with the Life Esidimeni tragedy will pale in comparison to what the National Health Insurance (NHI) will end up doing to South Africa’s healthcare system, said ActionSA.
DA Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga unveiled a comprehensive account of the party’s achievements over the past five years, at a press conference on Tuesday.
Nearly eight years later and following an inquest into the deaths during the tragedy which began virtually on July 18, 2021, Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge Mmonoa Teffo is due to recommend to the National prosecuting Authority whether anyone should be held criminally liable for the death.
Section27 will argue that former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, former director of the Mental Health Directorate, Dr Makgabo Manamela, and the owner of Precious Angels NGO should be charged with culpable homicide.
No criminal charges have been laid against any individuals involved in the 2016 Life Esidimeni tragedy, which resulted in 144 deaths, but a judicial inquest into the deaths is ongoing.
COLUMN: Lorenzo A Davids writes that next year’s elections will be about sanitised personalities and parties that deliver saintly promises that voters feel personally comfortable with, as this the new global phenomenon.
COLUMN: Lorenzo A Davids writes that the war on the black body, the black mind, the black presence and black humanity has not stopped.