Emaciated, mutilated, dead: the mental health scandal that rocked South Africa

When 1,700 vulnerable and mentally ill people were moved from specialised care facilities to unlicensed organisations in a bid to save money, nearly one in 10 died

In September 2016, Phumzile Motshegwa received a call from an unknown number. The woman on the end of the line said Motshegwa’s brother, Solly, was dead. His body was at a funeral parlour in Atteridgeville, a township in South Africa. Did she want to go and collect him? The address she gave was a disused butcher’s shop. When Motshegwa arrived, a man hosing down blood-stained floors handed her a pair of rubber gloves.

“Do you know your brother?” he asked.

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