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Christine Nxumalo of the Life Esidimeni Family Committee with a picture of her late sister Virginia Machpelah and late niece Shanice.
A member of the Life Esidimeni Family Committee and sister to one of the deceased, Christine Nxumalo, has expressed relief after the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed it will prosecute those implicated in the deaths of mental healthcare patients during the Life Esidimeni transfers.
The decision follows years of investigation and an inquest into the deaths of at least 141 psychiatric patients in 2015 and 2016.
During that period, patients at the health facility were moved to several non-governmental organisations that were deemed ill-equipped and lacked trained personnel.
Nxumalo is hoping that the prosecutions of those responsible will be quick, as they have been waiting for over a decade for justice.
“It’s over ten years, so to go to court right now and be told that they are not ready or they don’t have this or they are not ready to do this, for us, that will be a mockery, honestly speaking. So we are not expecting to go to court and be told that we are not ready and we cannot prosecute. That will really anger the families.”-Reporting by Puseletso Mokoena
Life Esidimeni | It’s taken too long: Christine Nxumalo
