Suspended Head of Gauteng Health Dr Barney Selebano

Seeking forgiveness – Empty Promises

During the arbitration suspended head of Gauteng Health Dr Barney Selebano ended his testimony into the Life Esidimeni saga with an emotional apology to families, admitting that his department “made a mess”.  

“ I want to go to individuals,” he said. “I want you to open your homes for me. You don’t have to open your hearts you just have to open your house. If you want to talk at the gate… I want to touch each and every family and we feel the pain together.  I don’t know how much I can ask for forgiveness.”

Christine Nxumalo, of the Life Esidimeni Family Committee remembers that day well. “It caused quite a scene. I thought let’s wait and see if he is sincere.”

“ Well he did none of it,” she says. “After the arbitration was finished his lawyers contacted Sasha Stevenson, the attorney at SECTION27. They asked her to ask me to organise it all for him. I refused. If he was genuine, he would have put in the effort and done it himself. I was not going to do it for him. So, he never did anything.”