Community suffers as Tembisa Hospital's R2 billion corruption scandal unfolds

As you enter Tembisa Hospital, you are greeted by the Accident and Emergency Unit, which was the second building to be gutted by the April 2025 blaze, reportedly started by the hospital's 48-year-old security guard.

The building remains in ashes to this day, with little to no visible progress after the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) indicated that repairs to both buildings would cost R14 million..

On the left as you enter through the security gates towards the reception area, the windows are covered with what looks like white linen sheets instead of curtains, while in some parts, plumbing is an issue, with some water leakages on the laboratory services side.

While the hospital has not literally gone to the ground as there is a semblance of functionality, workers coming in and out, and concerned community members have decried the R122 million corrupt payments linked to officials and employees of GDOH and Tembisa Hospital.

At the centre of the feeding frenzy that took hold at the embattled hospital, the Special Investigative Unit (SIU), through its report, found that these cartels, alongside departmental heads, hospital officials, and ordinary employees, helped themselves to millions due to deliberately weakened procurement systems, amounting to R2 billion in total.

"It is sad that the money went missing like that. The fact that the money was stolen is a very sad situation because, as security guards who are not permanent, the money could have gone towards making us permanent. We don't have medical aid insurance. We can't do much with what we earn. All we can do is pay rent and buy food, and we are left with nothing afterwards. How I wish I had medical aid, money for school fees, a car, which would have been possible had some of the money been used to insource us as permanent security personnel," stated one officer, who did not want to be named.

"Those responsible for this rot should be charged. How do you explain stealing R2 billion? You see, this money could have helped resolve the damage caused by the two fires early this year. Now we are told to wait while patients and community members suffer due to stalled repairs to the damaged units," Nosihle Nkambule, who identified herself as a community activist, said on Thursday.

In the corridors, the hospital looks clean and neat, until you get to the toilets further down the reception area, where darkness in some of the male toilets greets you.

A cleaner, who did not want to speak much, said: "Yes, I know about the investigation, but that happened way before I started working here. I am afraid I cannot say much about what happened," she said.

The investigation, prompted by the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, found that corrupt officials colluded with the service providers to exploit weaknesses in the procurement system. Deokaran's bravery was met with flying bullets, just days after flagging more than R850 million irregular tenders at the hospital.

Speaking on behalf of the Deokaran family, Darshan Deokaran reveals that Monday's SIU investigation findings, while sad and hurtful, are not surprising at all.

"As a family, we are deeply saddened but not surprised by the SIU’s findings. Babita tried to raise the alarm about this very corruption at Tembisa Hospital, and her courage ultimately cost her life. To see the confirmation of R2 billion in irregular and corrupt dealings is both painful and validating. Painful because her warnings were ignored, but validating because it shows she was right all along. We feel an immense sense of loss knowing that if her voice had been taken seriously sooner, both her life and billions of rand of public money could have been spared," stated Darshan.

For Patricia Lethole, the mother of Shonisani "Shoni" Lethole, the young man who died after he reported that he had been starved for days at the hospital, the pain of losing his son still haunts her to this day.

According to IOL, Shonisani was left unfed for over 100 hours while being placed in a ward alongside both Covid-positive and negative patients, as well as near corpses. He died five days after his outcry on social media was met with no action by the authorities, including former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.

"Shoni was not a snob who did not want to eat the food provided by the hospital, as reported by health authorities. I know that he is given attention, but what about others who died, and we are not talking about them? For me, it is painful how Babita and my son met their deaths, because if they had listened to them, none of this would have happened. We may forgive the fact that they did not know, but what did they do after hearing their outcry? This means their outcry did not mean anything to them," she stated.

Lethole said that since her son's death five years ago, she now suffers anxiety attacks, which have hindered her studies, preventing her from her profession, with only two years before her retirement.

"His death has been so painful that I am still undergoing therapy. I am now suffering from anxiety attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, which I did not have before. This has delayed my studies because I have had to defer them," she revealed.

Community leader Bishop Michael Mtshali explained that the two-fire incidents continue to show the poor state of hospital leadership.

"People have had to borrow money to travel to other hospitals. When you think about the R2 billion corruption, this R2 billion was supposed to service our community, resource the community, and the two facilities that burnt down. Doctors are needed as we have a shortage of doctors. There is a shortage of nurses and a shortage of machines and stationery. We had an issue with not having enough beds in the past. This is the money that was supposed to go to the people," he said.

This week, in response to another video circulating on social media, the Gauteng Department of Health condemned the misuse of social media, as the viral clip was found to be an old video of a mental health patient allegedly being mistreated at Tembisa Hospital.

"This video was taken in December 2022 at an overflow area in the casualty department, and it has since resurfaced to mislead the public into believing that the conditions remain the same, even after improvements have been made at the facility," the department said on Thursday.

Regarding the repairs to units damaged by the fire, the hospital stated that "following the fire incident in April 2025, parts of the casualty department reopened on September 29, 2025. This has created additional space for the initial assessment of mental healthcare users".

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za