Cape Town - More than 100 in-patients fled an unregistered drug rehabilitation centre in Khayelitsha this weekend, leading to an emergency meeting with parents and the centre’s board.
The Iliso Lakhe Rehabilitation Centre was founded by Shaheed Silwana, who died on June 4. A new management was implemented which included his former romantic partner, Siyamthanda Fateema Diko.
After Silwana’s death, Diko claimed his family tried to exclude her from running the centre.
“The centre was founded by Silwana and I in December 2021. The reason for this (escape) is that his family planned to cast me out shortly after his death. The day of his passing I went to the rehab and on my arrival, I was told by the security guards that his family asked them not to let me in.”
The centre is a non-profit organisation and is not registered with the provincial government.
Diko claimed there were allegations that she was abusing the young adults in their care.
Following several board meetings after Silwana’s death and with the help of ward councillors Ryder Mkhutshwa,
Diko said she was allowed to return to the centre on Friday and that’s when the patients escaped.
“(After) the meetings that we had, the kids were to be told that I was coming back to work, and surprisingly they did not want me back. A few minutes after we left the premises, we were called and told that they had escaped,” said Diko.
A member of the board, Velile Yayi, said the root of the problems at the rehab involved personal reasons, and in terms of allegations about abuse, they had never received any official report. Yayi said the organisation was registered as an NPO.
It was, however, not registered with the provincial government.
According to Diko, the centre charges R2 000 each month for the first six months and R1 000 each month for the rest of the year, and had more than 300 patients.
Lonwabo Peter, a parent who attended the meetings held by the board, said his child was at the premises during the escape.
“My child was at the rehab. From what I know kids are being punished there when they have done something wrong. It’s not something new, even when Shaheed was still alive we were made aware of that,” said Peter.