Life Esidimeni families urge NPA to prioritise prosecutions of Mahlangu and Manamela

‘We can’t wait another eight years.”

This short yet poignant sentence was featured on a placard held by one of the family members of the Life Esidimeni tragedy victims outside the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) offices near Church Square, Pretoria.

The tragedy began in 2016, when more than 1,400 mental health care users were moved from Life Esidimeni, a highly specialised, long-term psychiatric care hospital, to ill-equipped and unlicensed non-government organisations as part of a cost-cutting measure. The Gauteng Department of Health’s bid to save money had a deadly cost – 144 mental health users lost their lives.

In July 2024, Judge Mmonoa Teffo, ruling on the Life Esidimeni inquest, found that former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former director of mental health in Gauteng, Dr Makgabo Manamela, could be found criminally responsible for the deaths of nine Life Esidimeni patients. It was a day of vindication and triumph for the families of the Life Esidimeni victims and survivors.

Read more: Judge rules former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu can be held criminally liable for 9 Life Esidimeni deaths

“We were so encouraged, we were so confident when we heard the judgment. We were changing our minds on the perspective we had about justice. But now it seems we are stuck again and we have to push it so we can have accountability for the people that we lost,” said Nonhlanhla Makhoba, whose uncle Christopher Makhoba died at Precious Angels, an NPO in Atteridgeville, Pretoria after being moved without his family’s knowledge.

Protesters in Pretoria on 29 October 2024 demand that the National Prosecuting Authority prioritise the prosecution of of former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former Gauteng director of mental health Dr Makgabo Manamela for their roles in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu)

In her judgment, Teffo ruled that the deaths of Virginia Machpelah, Deborah Phehla, Frans Dekker, Charity Ratsotso, Koketso Mogoerane, Terrence Chaba, Daniel Josiah, Matlakala Motsoahae and Lucky Maseko were unnatural and found, “Qedani Mahlangu and Dr Manemela created the circumstances in which the deaths were inevitable”.

The ball has been in the NPA’s court for more than three months. The prosecuting body is charged with considering Teffo’s ruling and deciding if the pair will be criminally charged.

This is why members of the Life Esidimeni Family Committee, SECTION27 and the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) picketed outside the NPA’s Church Street building on Tuesday, 29 October 2024, to hand over a memorandum demanding that the NPA prioritise the prosecution of Mahlangu and Manamela for their roles in the tragedy.

“What we are here to do today is just to urge the NPA to prioritise this prosecution. It is such an important case for the families who have been awaiting justice for almost nine years now, but also for everyone else in South Africa who has watched this disaster unfold, seen the different processes, and has heard from the inquest court and now needs to see individual accountability by high-level government officials who were found by a high court judge to have caused the unnatural deaths of nine vulnerable people,” said Sasha Stevenson, SECTION27 executive director.

Information blackout 

Stevenson said the families and organisations involved in the inquest had not received any communication from the NPA since Judge Teffo handed down her judgment.

“We’ve been in contact with the NPA to offer assistance. The families have been in contact to ask for updates, but we haven’t heard from the NPA. They said to the families that they would revert back, but that has not happened yet,” Stevenson said.

For Christine Nxumalo, the wheels of justice are turning too slowly. Nxumalo lost her sister Virginia Machpelah to the tragedy. Virginia suffered from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and had lived at the Life Esidimeni facility in Randfontein for two years before she was suddenly moved to Precious Angels where she later died under inhumane circumstances.

“Back then it was us (the families and supportive NGOs) believing that people were dying and we were not able to prove it, but now we have a high court judgment. Surely that should mean something. If that doesn’t mean something then the South African law is not for the people because the NPA is supposed to act in the best interest of the citizens,” said Nzumalo.

“I feel like victims in South Africa are not prioritised. You will see how people very quickly defend or run to the defence of people who are charged versus people who should be protected. This is the system of South Africa.

“If you don’t stand up, nothing will happen. This is why we are here today, we felt that the pressure is needed because we tried eight years ago and they denied us. We are not going to allow this to happen again,” Nxumalo said.

Read more: Behind the Life Esidimeni headlines is the suffering of human beings who deserved better

Deeper justice

While the inquest judgment found Mahlangu and Manamela liable only for the deaths of nine victims, Rashida Landis believes more individuals should be prosecuted for the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

Landis is the mother of Life Esidimeni survivor Sedick, who was transferred to an ill-equipped NGO in Vereeniging. When the Gauteng Mental Health Marathon Project to move patients was implemented, Sedick was missing for some time, but Landis luckily managed to track him down.

“Qedani did not act alone. David Makhura was the premier at the time. It’s just fair that they must hold him accountable too, he must also come to court,” Landis said.

Protesters in Pretoria on 29 October 2024 demand that the National Prosecuting Authority prioritise the prosecution of of former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former Gauteng director of mental health Dr Makgabo Manamela for their roles in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu)

“I strongly feel that the whole cabal should be held responsible. From the word go, they told Qedani to save money to our loved ones’ detriment – they must all be held accountable. The NPOs that Qedani recruited, which were not fit for purpose, must be held accountable. It cannot be that Qedani and Manamela are the only ones that are responsible.”

During the inquest proceedings, former Gauteng premier David Makhura denied during his testimony in 2023 that he was part of the decision to terminate the Life Esidimeni contract.

Call for action 

After a long morning of protest, Nxumalo handed the memorandum over to advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng.

The memorandum calls on the NPA to expedite the prosecution of Mahlangu and Manamela, adding, “Eight years have passed since the initial events and families have endured excessive delays. We urge that charges be formalised and brought before the court without further delay.”

The Life Esidimeni families also called on the NPA to:

• Ensure comprehensive accountability by considering instituting charges against any additional culpable individuals aside from Mahlangu and Manamela. “Full legal accountability for each involved official is paramount in affirming the rule of law and providing due recourse for the victims’ families,” the memorandum read.


• Commit to regular legal updates to affected families and honour the families’ right to regular and substantive updates on case progress.

“During this Mental Health Awareness Month, the Life Esidimeni families, advocates, and citizens stand united to demand justice. We trust the NPA will uphold its duty to the public and ensure that justice is served, including respecting the families’ request for regular updates,” the memorandum read.

Speaking to the media, Mzinyathi said, “There were various processes that preceded this inquest. Like I said to the families, the delay is regrettable, but I think let us move forward now that the inquest has concluded and the only thing pending is a decision by myself.”

Stevenson said: “We all know that the wheels of justice turn slowly. The inquest judgment in itself is very important, but this next stage is extremely important. The public needs to see action from the NPA, to follow through on the findings of the court and make sure there is accountability in this case.”

Bittersweet moment

Having handed over the memorandum, an emotional Nxumalo said the moment was bittersweet.

“This takes us back to the very first protest. Back then there were 30-something people who passed and we were calling on them to step in. If they did, possibly more people could have been saved, maybe we would not have been at 144 [deaths].

“Mr Mzinyathi has said that he is taking accountability and that he is going to expedite the matter. But for me, it’s about the actions that will follow. For now, he has committed and we can hold him accountable for that.”

Nxumalo said that if the NPA chose not to proceed with the prosecution of Mahlangu and Manamela, the families would consider instituting private prosecution proceedings.

“We are hoping that [the NPA] will not fail us, but if that happens, we can’t leave this, this case is just too massive for us,” Nxumalo said. DM