SAHRC clashes with DA over Life Esidimeni complaint
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has responded to a statement issued by the DA on the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
A report by the Health Ombudsman revealed that 94 mentally ill patients died after they were transferred from Life Esidimeni to NGOs, many of them operating illegally.
The DA's Jack Bloom stated that lives could have been saved if the SAHRC acted seriously on a complaint laid in March last year.
"Annie Robb of the Ubuntu Centre, an organization of people with psychosocial disabilities, wrote to SAHRC Commissioner Bokankatla Malatji on 15 March 2016 requesting 'immediate urgent attention' concerning the potential violation of the rights of those affected by the Gauteng Health Department's cancellation of the Esidimeni contract," said Bloom.
Majola has expressed concern that anyone would issue such a statement without first engaging with the Commission.
"Such an engagement would have benefited the author in that the Commission would have availed information about the steps it had taken in this matter," says SAHRC spokesperson Gushwell Brooks.
Brooks says Health Ombud, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, specifically acknowledges the contributions made by the commission to his investigation.
"A number of factors informed the commission's handling of the matter. Amongst those were the earlier determinations by the courts. The other factors were the level of the technical, medical expertise required for a probe of this nature. The commission had also noted that the Office of the Health Ombud had been appointed to investigate the matter and thus determined to support the investigation by the Health Ombud," says Brooks.