The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has noted the legal opinion obtained by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) recommending that the former Gauteng MEC for Health, Qedani Mahlangu, be criminally prosecuted.
The former Director of Mental Health, Makgabo Manamela, will also be prosecuted. In both cases, the prosecution pertains only to the deaths of two victims and not all 144.
The Freedom Front Plus is of the opinion that justice will not be served in this way, and that Mahlangu and Manamela should be tried and held accountable for all the victims who died.
In 2015, Mahlangu and Manamela’s actions directly resulted in approximately 1 700 patients being transferred from a legitimate facility to non-governmental organisations in the province.
These facilities were not equipped nor geared to care for the patients, and were also unregistered. Consequently, a humanitarian tragedy occurred due to malnutrition and neglect.
Thanks to sustained pressure from the Freedom Front Plus and other parties at the time, a lengthy process including hearings, investigations and arbitrations began. Even the Health Ombud indicated that the Gauteng government’s actions were reckless and amounted to human rights violations.
The arbitration process determined that the authority in question had acted unlawfully.
At the time, the Freedom Front Plus also insisted that Mahlangu be extradited to South Africa from London, England, to ensure that she is held accountable for her actions.
The party insisted that she should be charged with murder or culpable homicide and, in September 2019, raised the issue again in the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health.
Meanwhile, a judicial inquest was conducted to determine the legal cause of the deaths. In July 2024, the Pretoria High Court ruled that nine deaths could be attributed to Mahlangu and Manamela’s negligence.
During this hearing, evidence was given of starvation, dehydration and patients suffering from bedsores. According to testimony, some patients ate paper and plastic so as not to die of hunger.
The judge ruled that some of the patients died due to inadequate care.
It would be a gross miscarriage of justice if Mahlangu and Manamela were not held accountable for all 144 deaths, but only for certain ones.
The facts are incontestable: Mahlangu and Manamela’s decision to transfer the patients resulted in their deaths. They should be brought to book for it so that the families of the victims can find closure.
The Freedom Front Plus urges the NPA to review the judge’s ruling. All evidence in the case, as well as the various legal processes, should be carefully considered before deciding to proceed with the legal opinion’s recommendation.
