Gauteng govt rubbishes claims that families still waiting for Life Esidimeni payouts

A long list of family members of the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy of 2015/16 are claiming they still haven’t been compensated by the Gauteng government as ordered to have been done more than two years ago, but the province claims otherwise.

Ulrich Roux, the attorney representing the affected families, said some families have been paid half of the settlement amounts owed to them, while others have not received any compensation. Roux is representing a total of 101 families demanding they be paid by Friday. If no payment is received, Roux intends to take on government in the High Court, and hold them liable for legal costs.

According to a letter sent by Roux to the Gauteng government on 27 July, 91 claimants are claiming R590,000; nine are claiming R1,180,000; and one is claiming R610,000. Roux is demanding that R64,920,000 be paid into the firm’s bank account by 14 August.

The Life Esidimeni tragedy, which came about due to a contract ending between the Gauteng health department and Life Esidimeni, saw mentally ill patients being transferred to NGOs incapable of providing the level of care required. 

As a result, 144 patients died, and 1,418 were exposed to severe trauma, but survived. 

Government was ordered to pay R1 million to each claimant by no later than 19 June 2018, but not all of the victims’ families were present during the initial legal processes.  

Roux told The Citizen that the Gauteng government has not yet acknowledged receipt of the letter sent last month, and finds it “peculiar” that government is commenting on the issue to the media, but that he has not received any responses from them. 

Gauteng provincial government spokesperson Thabo Masebe said as far as he was aware, the office of the premier has responded to Roux. Masebe, in turn, found it “strange” that Roux was “accusing us of talking through the media” when he approached the media first – “even before the office received his letter”. 

Masebe said government not only responded to the letter, but offered to meet with the concerned parties “to explain the process”.

Masebe emphasised that there were “no allegations of the families not being paid in full”, in stark contrast to Roux’s letter.

He explained that due to new claims being made after the Life Esidimeni Arbitration Award was finalised by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke. 

“As government was dealing with the new claims, clarity was needed on what portion of the compensation must be allocated to the surviving mental health care users. Justice Moseneke was asked for guidance but he declined.” 

In February 2019, he said these families and government agreed that 50% of the compensation amount must be allocated to mental healthcare users, and that a curator would be appointed by the high court to “safeguard the financial interests of the mental health care users”. 

Masebe said despite families agreeing with government on how new compensation payout claims would be dealt with, “the families now appear to have reneged from the agreement and are now seeking to have the portion of the mental health care users to be paid into their bank accounts, in contravention of the law.”

Roux, however, said his clients were legally entitled to recover what financial compensation is owed to them.

When asked whether a curator has been appointed, Masebe said government was preparing to make a high court application, but that the process “was stopped” by families demanding their payouts. 

The money being demanded by families, including the nine that claim they have not been paid any money, belongs to “the surviving mental health care users”, Masebe said, adding that if court action was taken, “government will have to defend the rights of the surviving mental health care users”.

Roux warned that should payment not be received by Friday, the Gauteng government will be held in contempt of court. 

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