Selebano: Mahlangu pressured officials to move Life Esidimeni patients
Suspended Gauteng health Head of Department (HOD), Dr Barney Selebano, has revealed that former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu put pressure on involved in the transfer of patients to from Life Esidimeni to unlicensed NGO's.
Selebano was testifying at the Life Esidimeni Arbitration proceedings in Parktown on Tuesday.
His court application to halt the subpoena to testify failed on Tuesday.
Selabano is a key witness in the proceedings as he signed the letter terminating the contract between Life Esidimeni and the health department.
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He was also reposonsible for the closure of some of the NGO's after deaths were reported.
Selebano told the hearing the Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi instructed him to do so.
He was asked about the type of pressure Mahlangu imposed on officials.
"To place the patients. That was the big pressure, to put patients in NGO's."
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The chairperson of the hearings, former Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, asked Selebano if Mahlangu pressured him specifically.
"I was not under pressure. There were two parts. The first was the deinstitutionalisation and there was the marathon. This meant it was a gallop to put patients in the NGO's," Selebano told Moseneke.