Qedani Mahlangu breaks silence on Life Esidimeni Arbitration
The former Gauteng health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, has released a statement amid mounting pressure for her to appear before the Life Esidimeni Arbitration Hearings.
She says claims that she used her studies as an escape from being held accountable are false.
Mahlangu was at the helm of the provincial health department during the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
At least 143 psychiatric patients died after being moved from the Life Esidimeni facility to NGOs across Gauteng.
"It is completely false that I refuse or ran away or disappeared from the Esidimeni Arbitration," Mahlangu says in a statement.
She insists she made it clear to all the relevant authorities that she is available to appear before the arbitration hearing.
"It is clear that these inaccurate reports seek to suggest that I'm not committed to principles of accountability, transparency and openness.
"As such, the reports are written in such a way that as a supposed "fugitive" of sorts, I must be subjected to an arbitration of public opinion, ahead of the formal Arbitration Process. Nobody else has been subjected to this kind of treatment," Mahlangu adds.
#QedaniMahlangu also says she would not comment over her studies in the UK. pic.twitter.com/N6chxExRjm
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) November 10, 2017
The arbitration hearing is still underway in Parktown.
The families of deceased not happy with delay in Mahlangu's appearance.
Life Esidimeni arbitration chairperson, Dikgang Moseneke, assured the families: "Usually good things are worth the wait. Bear with us."
Mahlangu's lawyer has confirmed that she will appear before the hearing between 22 and 26 January 2018.
The lawyer says Mahlangu is still busy with her studies and will challenge her suspension at the University of Bedfordshire in London.