By OBAKENG MAJE

4 August 2025- Congress of the People (COPE) said it has been five days since the Health Ombud, Prof Taole Mokoena released a damning report into the treatment and deaths of psychiatric patients at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital (NCMHH) and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH). Cope said two patients are dead, while one permanently lies bedridden.

COPE acting national chairperson, Pakes Dikgetsi said the Executive Head of the Northern Cape Provincial Government, Zamani Saul, remains conspicuously silent. Dikgetsi further said no word and where is his conscience?

“The report exposes inhumane conditions: electricity outages lasting a year, broken resuscitation equipment and extreme weather exposure that contributed to patient deaths. At the heart of this crisis is leadership failure. It is not just a matter of dysfunctional hospitals. It is a collapse of governance.

“The Provincial Department of Health has operated for years without a permanent Head of Department or Chief Financial Officer. Supply Chain Management processes are in disarray, replaced by a revolving door of acting officials who cannot deliver basic services but move with speed when tenders for corrupt security contracts arise,” he said.

Dikgetsi added that the Northern Cape Department of Health saw no emergency to procure life-saving infrastructure and equipment.

“In 2019, shortly after his inauguration, Saul made a public commitment to place his desk at RMSH to monitor healthcare service delivery. Six years later, his desk remains a pipedream, absent when needed most. His promise was not just political theatre. It was a commitment to lead from the front. That promise now lies shattered amidst the broken systems and lives lost under his administration.

“The Health Ombud’s findings are horrifying. Cyprian Mohoto died after being admitted with untreated pneumonia. Tshepo Mdimbaza succumbed to the cold—literally—with his post-mortem confirming “exposure to the elements,” he said.

Dikgetsi said another patient, John Louw, remains incapacitated following delayed intervention for a brain haemorrhage. He said these are not accidents, but are the result of systemic neglect, underpinned by failed leadership.

“Leadership, at its core, demands empathy, accountability and courage. Saul has shown none. Not a word of remorse. Not a visit to the grieving families. No plan of action. His silence is not neutral. It is complicated. During the recent by-election in ward 1 in Sol Plaatje Local Municipality and every such election, Saul actively led from the front, mobilising all state resources to advantage his corrupt party.

“When grieving families and the community need his moral leadership, he is AWOL. He prioritises power and self-interest over the needs of the suffering people. The parallels with Gauteng’s notorious Tembisa Hospital are alarming. There, too, a lack of oversight enabled corruption and fatal neglect. Northern Cape is now walking the same path: emergency centres overwhelmed, chronic staff shortages and a health department that responds more readily to political pressure than to human suffering,” said Dikgetsi.

He said it should not take national intervention or media outrage for Saul to act. Dikgetsi said the province deserves more than silence.

“It deserves leadership that values lives, especially those most vulnerable, psychiatric patients without voices or advocates. If Saul cannot show leadership during a time of tragedy, then when will he? If he cannot care for those in the province’s custody, what does that say about the moral fabric of his administration?” he asked.

Dikgetsi said South Africans must demand better. He said accountability must follow and those who turned away when they should have acted—must be held responsible.

“Until then, the silence of Premier Saul speaks louder than any words. This will not go away but shall follow him wherever,” said Dikgetsi.

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