LISTEN | DA concerned about Gauteng patients’ deaths following heart surgery

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Jun 04, 2026 · 470 words · By Michelle Banda

Healthcare Accountability Medical Mortality Rates Political Conflict (DA vs Gauteng Health Department)

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What to know about Healthcare Accountability

Story audio is generated using AI At least 99 people have died since 2022 following heart surgery at Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg, with sepsis as one of the contributing factors in the deaths.

Claims checked 7

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

This was revealed at the legislature by Gauteng health MEC Faith Mazibuko in response to the DA’s questions about the deaths, which the party said were unacceptably high.

Common ground

Mazibuko said 814 cardiac surgical procedures had been performed at the hospital since 2022, averaging 200 a year.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Healthcare Accountability story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that sepsis as one of the contributing factors in the deaths?
How does this story connect Healthcare Accountability with Medical Mortality Rates over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-06-04-listen-da-concerned-about-gauteng-pati…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 3

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Claim 1: “sepsis as one of the contributing factors in the deaths”

CORROBORATED

The claim that sepsis was a contributing factor is explicitly mentioned in reports from the DA's concerns and corroborated by the context of the deaths reported by The Citizen.

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web search NEUTRAL — At least 99 people have died since 2022 following heart surgery at Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg, with sepsis as one of the contributing factors in the deaths. This was revealed at the leg…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-06-05-lis…

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web search NEUTRAL — “According to their new figures, the mortality rate for heart surgery in 2025 was 14% – 23 deaths out of 166 surgeries. This compares to 19% mortality in 2024, 21% in 2023, and 12% for July to Decembe…
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/another-life-esidimeni-brews-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Orthopaedic Surgery. About Us. Facilities.Hospital Secretary. Dr N. Sikhauli. Clinical Head Arthroplasty.
https://www.wits.ac.za/clinicalmed/departments/surgery/divis…

info

Claim 2: “99 patients died from heart surgery over the last four years: 23 in 2025, 27 in 2024, 38 in 2023, and 11 in 2022”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific breakdown of deaths per year (11 in 2022, 38 in 2023, 27 in 2024, 23 in 2025) is not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, although the total of 99 is corroborated.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is an accredited general hospital in Parktown, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Maxeke_Johannesburg_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Florence Nightingale Maternity Hospital is a defunct hospital. This building was once a private maternity hospital located in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa. Designed by H. Battiscombe in 19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale_Maternity…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yolanda Nyembezi (23 August 1994 – 13 March 2025), professionally known as Yallunder, was a South African singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Bizana, Nyembezi signed her first record deal with 1…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yallunder

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Claim 3: “At least 99 people have died since 2022 following heart surgery at Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including a report on the DA's concerns and The Citizen, confirm that at least 99 people died following heart surgery at Charlotte Maxeke hospital since 2022.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a leading multi-campus public research university situated in the economic hub of Johannesburg, Sout…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Witwatersran…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bidvest Wits Football Club (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premiership the first-tier of South…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidvest_Wits_F.C.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “an overall 34% reduction in mortality between 2023 and 2025”

CORROBORATED

Both 'The Citizen' and 'Politicsweb' explicitly quote the claim of an overall -34% reduction in mortality between 2023 and 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carte Blanche is a South African investigative journalism television series that airs on local television network M-Net, on Sunday nights. It premiered in 1988 and focuses on investigation into corrup…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_Blanche_(TV_series)

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 5: “the department said they did not intentionally provide false information, but the number “presumably resulted from a calculation error during the collection of preliminary, non-reconciled datasets””

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence snippets do not contain the specific quote or admission from the department regarding a 'calculation error' for a 72.5% reduction.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 23, 2025 ... In South Africa, excess deaths from natural causes in 2020 and 2021 were estimated to be nearly three times higher than the reported COVID-19 ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12186340/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 19, 2022 ... ABSTRACT Air pollution causes adverse effects not only on the environment but also on human health. This study evaluated the excess ...
https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-22-02-ssea-0105

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web search NEUTRAL — ... deaths occurred during this period, up from 37% in 1990 (Fig. 1). As overall under- five mortality rates decline the proportion of such deaths occurring ...
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/gho-documents/world-…

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Claim 6: “Their admitted 14% mortality rate last year”

CORROBORATED

The 14% mortality rate for the previous year is explicitly mentioned in reports from 'The Citizen' and the DA's call for a probe.

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web search NEUTRAL — In humans, deoxygenated blood enters the heart through the right atrium from the superior and inferior venae cavae and passes to the right ventricle. From here, it is pumped into pulmonary circulation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart

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web search NEUTRAL — Heart is an American rock band formed in Vancouver in 1974. The band evolved from previous projects led by the founding members Roger Fisher (guitar) and Steve Fossen (bass guitar), including The Army…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_(band)

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web search NEUTRAL — “Their admitted 14% mortality rate last year is scandalously high. In leading overseas cardiac centres, mortality rates exceeding 2% to 3% would trigger an immediate formal inquiry. Here, we have an a…
https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/da-calls-for-probe-into-he…

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Claim 7: “814 cardiac surgical procedures had been performed at the hospital since 2022, averaging 200 a year”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general context of heart surgery deaths is present, the specific number of 814 procedures averaging 200 a year is not explicitly stated in the provided evidence snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Tambo Memorial Hospital, Tembisa Hospital and Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. The ... from ctober 2022/23-Jan 2022/2023 year. Of Visual. Impairment client ...
https://ecipahealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/gdoh-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 2, 2025 ... Page 1. Long-term follow-up of treatment comparisons in. RECOVERY: a ... NHS Forth Valley: Forth Valley Royal Hospital J Selwyn (PI), A ...
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2025/09/02/202…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines are intended to support clinicians caring for adult patients with sepsis, focusing on management in the hospital,.
https://www.stairs-sepsis.com/wp-content/uploads/Surviving-S…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.