Luleka and Eunice Khunjwa (standing)  and their late sister Maureen

HOW COULD IT HAPPEN?

Once a year in October, all 16 family members of the Khunjwa family – Luleka and Eunice, their other siblings, children, cousins and grandchildren – would pile into a hired mini bus. It was Maureen Khunjwa’s birthday and they would head off to celebrate it with her. From a young age, Maureen had been unable to speak, and she was living at Life Esidimeni in Randfontein because she needed full-time care.

‘At the home they would put tables out for us, and we would spread out the cake, cooldrinks and music to celebrate. Maureen always danced. She was lively and happy. She knew she had a family who loved her,’ Luleka, her younger sister, remembers.

Luleka and Eunice grew up in Vlakfontein. ‘Our family lived on a mine where my dad worked as a male nurse. But in 1973, when I was 14 years old, he died and we were chased off,’ Luleka recalls. Luleka, her mother and five siblings were left homeless and so all the children were sent to stay with different relatives. ‘I went to live with my aunt,’ Luleka recalls, ‘but Maureen stayed with my mom.’

‘Then in 1975, at 20 years old, Maureen was finally admitted to Life Esidimeni in Randfontein where she stayed for many years. Luleka tried to visit her often. ‘Maureen always came home for Christmas.’

In February 2026, the family got an SMS to say that Maureen was being relocated to the Takalani Home. But when Luleka went to Takalani, they wouldn’t let her in. Finally, when they brought Maureen into the reception area, Luleka was completely shocked.

‘Maureen was standing like a statue. She was haggard and thin. She didn’t smile. She had lost so much weight and she looked very dehydrated. It was so difficult, because Maureen did not speak, so she couldn’t tell us what had happened.’

Luleka was so worried about Maureen that she made a plan to visit her sister every two days. She was always instructed to wait at reception and Maureen was brought to her. But each time she just seemed to be getting worse. The nurse told her that she didn’t know what was wrong.

Three weeks later, Maureen was taken to hospital. They said she had been vomiting but they didn’t know what the problem was.

Maureen spent the next months in and out of hospital. One time Luleka and her niece arrived at Takalani and they said they didn’t know where Maureen was. Luleka panicked. Her niece was furious.

‘You took her to the hospital and you say we must go and look for her. Find her!’ she shouted at the sister.

Luleka finally found her sister at Baragwanath Hospital. She had an injury just above her eye and there were bruises on her body and hip. On 24 October, Maureen passed away. They said it was from a brain injury.

‘My sister was not taken care of at Takalani. She had been healthy and happy at Randfontein for 41 years. She had stayed there for only seven months, when she died.’

Luleka is angry. ‘Maureen was murdered. We want to know why? If they hadn’t moved her like this, she would still be alive. Maureen was healthier than me. I always thought she would outlive me. The government that we have elected did not treat my sister very well.’