Protesters will gather outside the NPA offices in Pretoria.

Earlier this year, the Pretoria High Court found Mahlangu and the former head of the provincial mental health department, Dr Makgabo Manamela, responsible for the deaths of some of the 140 mental health patients.

In 2015, the Gauteng government terminated its contract with Life Esidimeni Health Center and transferred them to poorly equipped facilities, where some patients subsequently died.

After eight years of waiting, the court ruled that the two men had created the circumstances of these deaths which could have been avoided.

“A prosecution in this case would be very important for accountability, both for the families of the victims, but also for everyone else in South Africa who has watched for eight years as the wheels of justice slowly turned.

“The responsibility for victims of lifespan estimation could not be greater,” said Sasha Stevenson, executive director of Section27.

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