An inquest into the death of 141 state mental health patients between June 2016 and October 2017 found that Gautengs former health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, and the former head of mental health, Makgabo Manamela, can be held responsible for the deaths of at least nine Life Esidimeni patients.
Christine Nxumalos sister, Virginia Machpelah was one of the nine patients.
Nxumalo has become the voice of Life Esidimeni families and was one of the first people who spoke out about the death of a loved one.
But it came at a devastatingly high cost, she says. Work started drying up and her familys mental and physical health suffered.
Weve been through so many depression tablets, and so many anxiety treatments, she says. But this is a side of the story that nobody is that interested in hearing.
COMMENT
When the wheels of Life Esidimeni started turning, I was working for the Gauteng government, and I had a leadership position in a prominent political party. Life was good. My husband, an architect and facilities manager, had more work than he had time for, a lot of it with government entities and individuals working for the government.
But Ive learned theres a cost that comes with speaking out. Bad things happen when you stop playing by the rules of your social world.
I spoke out when we, Virginia Machpelah s family, discovered that my sister, who had early onset Alzheimers disease , was due to be removed from Life Esidimeni s Randfontein facility, where she had been well cared for.
I spoke out when she was taken away without our knowledge, and we did not know where she was. I spoke out when we learned of Virginias death, in the care of a nonprofit, Precious Angels Home. I spoke out when we struggled to find her body and when we learned that my sister was not the only person who had died in similar circumstances of neglect.
