South African Psychiatry - November 2018

FEATURE
THE GENOCIDE
OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS
THROUGH THOUGHTLESSNESS
& EVIL COMPLIANCE
Zamo Mbele
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable
one.” - Thomas Paine
“To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.” - Martn Luther King, Jr.
Ayoung South African democracy faces a
dark hour in the wake of what is generally
referred to as the ‘Life Esidimeni tragedy’,
where following a series of neglectful and
devastating oversights hundreds of psychiatric
patients have lost their lives, many more remain
missing and unaccounted for, a countless number
of families find themselves in grief, and the extent
of neglect and callousness in the healthcare
systems has been uncovered. In the case of the
deaths of said psychiatric patients much has been
written, published and publicized in the media 1,2,3 ,
academically 4,5,6,7 and as this paper is being
written an official alternative dispute resolution
process is underway with judgment from retired
Judge Moseneke pending 1a . This tragedy – which
is one of many such in contemporary South Africa,
is iconic in bringing into sharp focus the ill-health
and criminality towards psychiatry in the public
health sphere and of the public health sentiment
respectively in South Africa. Yet, it
is the opinion of the author, that
while public discourse in reflection
of this tragedy continues, public
hearings and arbitrations are held
to account for this tragedy, that two
‘running truths’ deserve comment.
Zamo Mbele
FIRSTLY, THAT THIS IS
ONE OF MANY SUCH
DISASTERS WHICH KNOWINGLY OR
UNWITTINGLY ROB MILLIONS OF THEIR
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DIGNITY
THROUGH CONDITIONS FACED BY MANY
MORE PEOPLE LIVING WITH PSYCHIATRIC
CONDITIONS (DIAGNOSED OR NOT) IN
SOUTH AFRICA.
1a
Since authoring the article the said process has concluded with Judge Moseneke finding that top officials in
the Gauteng health department had skirted their responsibilities resulting in the death of at least 144 psychiatric
patients and neglect of others. He likened the treatment of the patients moved between facilities to torture and
abuse that lead to death in many cases. He added that the South African government had breached several
constitutional rights in the mistreatment of the patients in question. Further, Moseneke’s report ordered that the
government pay each claimant a sum of money in compensation and damages.
24 * SOUTH AFRICAN PSYCHIATRY ISSUE 17 2018