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In the eight years since the Gauteng health department ended its contract with a private psychiatric hospital group, Life Esidimeni, to look after long-term state mental health patients, a tragedy of 144 people dying and 44 going missing at the hands of “an admittedly delinquent provincial government” has unfolded.

HomeSpecial ReportsLife Esidimeni#LifeEsidimeni: 'There may still be uncounted bodies in state mortuaries'

#LifeEsidimeni: ‘There may still be uncounted bodies in state mortuaries’

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The health ombudsman has found 94 mental health patients died because of state negligence. Laura Lopez Gonzalez tells Mia Malan what happened.

Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.

Laura Lopez Gonzalez is a freelance health journalist and editor. She was Bhekisisa's news editor, then deputy editor between 2016 and 2020.

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