Lesufi distances himself from postponed Tembisa prayer event

GAUTENG Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, has distanced himself and his administration from the postponed ‘national day of prayer’ event, which was meant to be held at the Tembisa Hospital yesterday afternoon.

- SIYABONGA SITHOLE

GAUTENG Premier Panyaza Lesufi has distanced his administration from the National Day of Prayer for Tembisa Hospital which failed to take off yesterday. I Independent Media Archives

(Independent Media Archives)

This comes as scores of South Africans on social media slammed the circulation of a poster, with Lesufi’s image on it, purporting to be from the provincial government and other concerned members of the community, which called for prayers over the R2 billion looted from the hospital between 2018 to 2022.

Last week, the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) revealed that more than R2bn of taxpayers’ money was stolen of by corrupt tender syndicates, working in cahoots with Gauteng Department of Health officials and low-level workers at the hospital.

Patricia Lethole, the mother of Shonisani Lethole, a young businessman who died after being starved for over 100 hours at Tembisa Hospital in 2021, slammed the prayer day initiative.

She said no matter how badly prayer is needed, it would never resolve the corruption that contributed to the death of her son.