Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Bronwynn Englebrecht MPL.
The disturbing images of close to 30 patients marching through the Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Treatment Centre, protesting that they had not eaten all day, have laid bare the shortcomings of Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Tswa Daar anti-substance abuse initiative. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng will write to the Gauteng Department of Social Development MEC, Faith Mazibuko, and Premier Lesufi, demanding an urgent investigation into the Tswa Daar campaign and the conditions at all state-run rehabilitation centres.
The chaos and despair at the Ribeiro Treatment Centre in Cullinan, Tshwane, came to light during the DA’s oversight inspection of the facility. It has also been confirmed by MEC Mazibuko, indicating that nearly 1,000 desperate individuals descended on the facility on 27 October 2025, pleading for help and rehabilitation. Consequently, the centre, licensed to accommodate only 353 patients, was forced to accommodate hundreds more, with some sleeping on floors and makeshift mattresses in overcrowded bungalows.
Premier Lesufi proudly declared in his 2023 State of the Province Address that Gauteng would expand rehabilitation services, promising over 1,300 new beds and comprehensive treatment and aftercare programmes.
Yet, the recent Tswa Daar campaign, launched under his watch, has become an unmitigated disaster. Instead of structured, evidence-based rehabilitation, patients were subjected to bootcamp-style punishment, denied medical care, and in some cases physically assaulted. Reports from social workers further indicate that patients in withdrawal faced no medical supervision and were confined against their will, violating standards for inpatient treatment.
This is a clear indication that Lesufi’s highly publicised “war on drugs” has transformed into a war against vulnerable individuals. What should have been a compassionate approach has turned into a political spectacle, focusing on statistics rather than individuals, and has resulted in a legacy of human suffering and unfulfilled promises.
Patients’ reports of being denied food, shelter, and medication in rehabilitation centres, along with social workers facing coercion and threats from political authorities, indicate state-sponsored cruelty rather than mere administrative failure. When caregivers must choose between ethics and political orders, it reveals a deeply flawed system.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would have ensured that all rehabilitation centres are properly resourced to provide essential care, rather than leaving the province’s most vulnerable hungry for both food and justice.
The DA will continue to pressure the Gauteng Provincial Government to ensure that rehabilitation focuses on dignity, science, and genuine healing, rather than serving as a platform for political theatrics.