Statement of Fact
22 May 2026 | Sidvokodvo, Eswatini
The Luke Commission (TLC) is aware of allegations and narratives currently circulating publicly and on social media regarding the institution’s operations, staffing, and financial position.
For more than two decades, TLC has provided large-scale healthcare services Emaswati, including tertiary, emergency, outreach, and specialised care. During and following the COVID-19 era, patient volumes increased by more than 300% over a five-year period, with healthcare services continuing to be provided free of charge to the nation until early 2025.
Like many healthcare institutions globally, TLC has since faced significant pressure from global donor reductions, residual COVID-era financial strain, delayed reimbursements, prolonged government funding delays, and broader healthcare financing challenges. TLC is therefore undergoing a transition toward a more sustainable and diversified operating model while continuing to prioritise patient care, employment stability, and continuity of healthcare services.
TLC presently employs and supports nearly 500 staff members serving patients across multiple clinical and operational departments. The institution continues to provide tertiary and specialised healthcare services in areas including internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, general surgery, ENT, urology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, emergency care, and critical care, alongside inpatient, inpatient and community healthcare services.
Despite full cooperation and submission of required documentation a year ago, TLC continues to experience delays in obtaining certain practice numbers and operational reimbursement approvals necessary for access to prominent medical aid and institutional reimbursement systems. This issue was specifically addressed in the 2024 Parliament Select Committee recommendations regarding TLC’s operational sustainability and healthcare access.
By contrast, Oracle approved the necessary practice numbers within approximately two weeks, and Oracle Medical Aid members have been seamlessly accessing care at TLC for the past year.
As a result, many patients who voluntarily selected TLC as their healthcare provider have experienced difficulty utilising medical aid benefits for services already available locally at TLC. In some instances, patients have reported being informed that certain schemes “do not work with TLC” and have been directed outside Eswatini for services already available locally. Despite repeated engagement over the past year, TLC has not received substantive explanations for the continued reimbursement and approval delays.
TLC further notes that many of the operational, staffing, and financial pressures presently affecting the institution arise within a broader healthcare financing and reimbursement environment characterised by delayed approvals, restricted reimbursement access, and barriers to normal revenue generation despite sustained patient demand for TLC services.
At no stage did TLC cease operations or abandon service delivery obligations to the people of Eswatini. Clinical, outreach, emergency, and specialised healthcare services continued throughout this period.
TLC further notes that several allegations currently circulating publicly originate from former employees connected to prior disciplinary, employment, and/or investigatory processes, some of which remain active or unresolved.
TLC also notes that certain individuals referenced publicly in relation to these allegations have been materially mischaracterised in terms of their professional roles and capacities within the institution, including a staff member publicly described as a qualified nurse despite not being professionally trained, licensed, or employed by TLC in that capacity.
TLC encourages any staff member with workplace concerns or grievances to utilise established internal processes as the appropriate first step toward review, engagement, and resolution of such matters. TLC presently has no formal grievance, appeal, or recorded employee complaint of the nature alleged before the organisation through its established internal grievance and reporting structures, and the official records presently on file materially do not align with the version of events being publicly circulated.
As a matter of policy and legal prudence, TLC does not litigate personnel matters through social media platforms or public online exchanges. Accordingly, this statement is limited to correcting materially inaccurate public claims while respecting appropriate confidentiality and personnel processes.
NB While TLC respects the role of the media and the importance of legitimate public-interest reporting, the institution is concerned that portions of the allegations currently circulating publicly appear to rely significantly on unverified social media narratives and selectively presented claims without full factual review or broader institutional context.
TLC remains committed to transparency, accountability, lawful process, continued service to the people of Eswatini, continuous quality improvement, patient safety, institutional accountability, and constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders during this difficult operating period.
The Luke Commission reserves all rights available to it in law in relation to any false, misleading, defamatory, incomplete, or selectively presented statements or reporting arising from these matters.
The Luke Commission (TLC)
Contact Information
For VIPs: +268 7613 8814 / +268 7923 8814
For Media Inquiries:
📧 comms@lukecommission.org
