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Former Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu says for a long time, she has been preoccupied by the question of why her trusted officials overseeing the termination of the Life Esidimeni contract misled her.
“I have a great deal of respect for Dr [Barney] Selebano, who is a highly qualified administrator, and I had no doubt of the information he gave me,” Mahlangu said to Dikgang Moseneke.
To which the retired chief justice countered: “He [Selebano] says he was scared of you, that you were the driver of the project – why would he be untruthful of your role?”
Moseneke was referring to Selebano’s testimony last year that he was afraid of Mahlangu and went ahead with ahead with the marathon project that saw 143 mentally ill patients across the province die despite warnings by other departmental officials and civil society groups.
To which Mahlangu pleaded ignorance, asserting that at various meetings she held with officials, she didn’t get a sense that people around her were afraid of her. “To my knowing I’m a warm person,” she added.
Mahlangu began the second day of her testimony at the arbitration hearings this morning, putting her concerns on record that a drone was circling her home yesterday. She also stated that when she arrived back in the country after writing exams overseas, two officers from the crime intelligence unit approached her at the airport.
“I don’t know why I’m being harassed, I committed myself to the process and to work with government,” she stated.
