Johannesburg - The Health Ministry has launched an investigation into the death of entrepreneur Shonisani Lethole, 33, who succumbed to Covid-19, five days after sending an urgent plea to Minister Zweli Mkhize.
In his plea on Twitter, addressed to the minister, Lethole had complained of being starved of food for 48 hours at the Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng.
“Mkhize can I respond to your tweets if the problems I have at one of your facilities continues, it's becoming unbearable and they don’t seem to care. Didn’t eat for 48 hours,” read his tweet.
Lethole died on Monday at Tembisa Hospital, Ekurhuleni, after he tweeted Mkhize on June 25 pleading for his intervention after the hospital staff failed to feed him for two days.
He had been admitted there on June 22 after experiencing difficulty breathing.
However, Mkhize’s office has since reached out to The Star and said the matter was being investigated.
“We have actually been investigating the issue very intensely and we are awaiting a report on the issue,” health spokesperson Dr Lwazi Manzi said.
According to Shonisani Lethole's father, Albert, health officials visited the family on Thursday to apologise.
“It’s good to see that they have reached out to the family. Nothing much was discussed besides them apologising and they have also promised to consult with us after the funeral,” said the father.
Lethole’s cousin, Busi, said the family needed answers to get closure and that the person responsible should be held accountable.
“At the end of the we want answers as to why my cousin was treated like this. I mean, he was not given food for 48 hours. We want to shift this into what is happening at our facilities and we believe that it will help others who don't have access to the internet or even social media,” she said.