Eight Life Esidimeni patients still missing five years later

GAUTENG Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi has admitted that her department was still searching for the whereabouts of eight mental health patients who were reported missing at Life Esidimeni almost five years ago.

Mokgethi made the shocking revelations in her written reply in the Gauteng provincial legislature to questions by DA spokesperson on health Jack Bloom, who had had asked for details on the number of mental health patients who had not been located or accounted for, and efforts made to find them.

In her reply, Mokgethi placed the number at eight, despite scepticism from the Life Esidimeni family committee that more patients were still unaccounted for. But Mokgethi maintained that her department had conducted home visits for those whose addresses were provided, including contacting the Department of Home Affairs and the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) for assistance.

“Names and birth dates were sent to check if mental health-care users have applied for IDs, and also whether they are receiving disability grants. Life Esidimeni head office was also engaged, and they assisted with four files of mental health-care users. Four out of eight patients, therefore, do not have files,” Mokgethi said.

She said a case of missing patients had been opened with the police to assist in locating them, adding that her department was continuously checking for the patients at all facilities.

According to Mokgethi, the reason for the delay was that it was “difficult and time-consuming to trace for patients” if their personal information was not available. “Home Affairs and Sassa could not trace patients without ID numbers. Dates of birth provided do not exist and telephone numbers of family members and home addresses provided are incorrect. Some calls go to voicemail,” she said.

Mokgethi, however, remained hopeful that the patients could still be found, saying “once accurate information of patients is made available or found, it will be easy to make an assessment as to where the patients are/were located”.

Despite the glitches, Mokgethi said, their investigations were continuing.

Asked about the likelihood that any missing patients were still alive, Mokgethi said: “Only if the correct information about the mental healthcare user is found, we will be able to confirm the status quo.”

Bloom, however, appeared unconvinced, saying: “It is nearly five years since the transfers of patients from Life Esidimeni to illegal NGOs in June 2016, so it is unlikely that any of the missing patients are still alive.

“The terrible possibility is that some of the missing patients died at the NGOs, but we will never know as their bodies may have been secretly disposed of. There have been 144 confirmed deaths, but the true Esidimeni death toll should probably include the eight patients whose fate is currently unknown,” Bloom said.