Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, who has been widely blamed for the deaths of at least 143 mentally ill patients after they were transferred to illegal NGOs, told the panel sitting at the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings on Wednesday that her life is in danger.
“I thought I would raise this formally. There is no reason for anyone to harass me.”
Mahlangu said a drone hovered over her house for a while and she was alerted by security. She said she also informed the department of community safety.
She was testifying for a second day on Wednesday at the arbitration hearings being held in Parktown, Johannesburg.
Mahlangu said she felt it necessary to formally raise her concerns with retired chief justice Dikgang Moseneke who is chairing the hearing.
She said that when she arrived in the country from the United Kingdom where she is studying, she was approached by police at the airport.
Mahlangu said state security officials met her at the airport but didn’t tell her why.
“There was an unusual passport check when I got off the plane. After I picked up my bags two police approached me and said they were sent by their bosses from state security,” Mahlangu said.
Moseneke asked advocate Tebogo Hutamo, acting for the state, to check with the police and report back on Thursday.
Mahlangu resigned her MEC position over the tragedy last year and was summoned to testify at the hearing while studying at the Global Banking School in Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom.
The school has since suspended Mahlangu citing the seriousness of allegations about the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
The hearing continues.
- African News Agency (ANA),
