Life Esidimeni

The Life Esidimeni tragedy involved the deaths of 144 people at psychiatric facilities in the Gauteng province of South Africa from causes including starvation and neglect. The tragedy takes its name from Life Esidimeni, a subsidiary of Life Healthcare, the private healthcare provider from which some 1 500 state patients were removed in the first half of 2016. The patients were relocated to cheaper care centres, many of which were later found to be unlicensed and grossly under-resourced. The incident has been called "the greatest cause of human rights violation" in democratic South Africa, and stimulated discussion about the care of psychiatric and other state patients. As of 2021, no criminal charges had been laid against any individuals involved, but a judicial inquest into the deaths was ongoing. In 2024, a judge ruled that former MEC Qedani Mahlangu and Makgoba Manamela could be prosecuted for the deaths of the patients.