It’s been seven years since the lives of the families of patients at Life Esidimeni mental health facilities took a turn for the worse when they discovered their loved ones were being severely neglected and mistreated, and in some cases, died as a result of this.
Pauline doesn’t remember where or when this photograph of Isaac was taken. But she remembers Isaac well. “He was my husband’s younger brother. He was a respectful and quiet person. He liked to draw houses. I think he wanted to be an architect,” she recalls.
Reverend Joseph Maboe was the first family member who spoke at the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings. He testified that he believed the Gauteng health department was complicit in his son’s death. A member of the Life Esidimeni Family Committee, he continued to seek justice for his son’s d.
The Life Esidimeni inquest continues. It will determine whether there is any criminal liability for the deaths of 144 mental healthcare patients in the care of the South African public health system in 2016. Patients died from neglect, starvation, torture and abuse. The Life Esidimeni inquest c.
Maverick Citizen is running a series of weekly portraits of those who died in the Life Esidimeni tragedy and the stories of the loved ones left behind. Harriet Perlman, Darnell Nxumalo and photographer Mark Lewis have been interviewing families as part of an ongoing memorial and advocacy websit.