Police go to court to get Esidimeni files

POLICE have had to go to court to force the Gauteng Department of Health to provide the information they need to investigate the deaths of psychiatric patients who died in the Life Esidimeni transfer debacle.

Senior police officer Major-General Charles Johnson testified at the arbitration hearing yesterday.

Johnson said police were investigating 127 deaths.

The arbitration hearings had heard that 141 people had died after being transferred from Life Esidimeni care centres to ill-equipped NGOs.

Johnson‚ who is based at police headquarters in Pretoria‚ said he had initially set up a five-person team but later realised that the magnitude of the investigation meant the team needed to be expanded to eight members.

He said 89 of the 127 deaths that his team were investigating were being treated as inquiries since there were no autopsy reports, as they were registered as death “by natural causes”.

“If we obtain evidence or documentary proof that these individuals did not die of natural causes, we will change the files into inquests.”

He said the team was working with a senior prosecutor‚ based at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court‚ who would help the police determine whether it was necessary to exhume bodies to establish the cause of death.

Johnson told the inquiry he had initially expected to conclude the investigation by next month but had now realised this would not happen.

“Our investigation is delayed by the non-cooperation of the Gauteng Department of Health,” he said.

“We approached the department on various occasions for clinical and medical records and other documentary evidence that we could use in our investigation but cooperation was lacking.”

Johnson said the he had initially communicated with someone by the name of Dr Lebethe‚ who promised to provide information within a week.

Lebethe later told police that they needed to write to the director-general in order to get the files they required.

Johnson told the inquiry that the team then decided to go to court and summon department head Dr Ernest Kenoshi.

The arbitration hearing continues. – TImesLIVE