South Africa's former Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang passed away recently. Manto was not a stranger to controversy with dodgy views on managing HIV-AIDS as well as questionable behaviour including using her position to secure herself a healthy liver after hers were damaged due to heavy drinking. She was known as Dr. Beetroot because of promoting the benefits of beetroot, garlic, lemons, and African potatoes in the fight against AIDS. It is for these reasons that she never ceased to be a favourite topic in the mainstream media and indeed the blogosphere. Even Global Voices Online has seen her name in its headlines, twice. Her death has sparked comments in the blogosphere but the responses on Twitter to her death have garnered more attention. Some Twitter Responses To Manto's Death @charliehuman: don't think ‘cultural tradition’ comes into speaking about Manto at all. It's not like there's a cultural monopoly on respect for the dead – Link @aidencholes: Fact about SA's response to Manto's death: it's the whites who are happy she is dead – Link @hayibo: More than 300,000 unable to forgive Manto – because they are already dead after being refused ARV's. http://tinyurl.com/y9eq8m2 @ne3tz: Who gives a shit about manto?Now ppl want to respect her cos she's dead? reminds me of when MJ was alive n ppl hated him, then respected him - Link Blog posts around Manto's Death Stuff posted a picture in a tribute to the health minister with no adjoining explanation so it could mean anything you want it to… Democratic Capitalist has this to say on Manto…: Its amazing how when somebody dies all of her supporters suddenly can think of all the good things she did for society. The reality is that her policies around HIV / AIDs cost hundreds of thousands of lives and have been one of the largest post-apartheid social injustices perpetuated on South Africans. She is not a hero and should not be treated as one. She was out of her depth from the time she was appointed health minister and her refusal to acknowledge her short-comings meant that many other people suffered. For those jumping out to defend her, just clarify whether you are doing it as a way of taking advantage of some easy PR or whether you truly believed she offered a lot. Its interesting to note that according to a poll on News24 – 93% of recipients believe she will be remembered for her failure to tackle HIV in South Africa. Betty Noire has a lot to say not so much on Manto but on her replacement in the Health Ministry: One would have thought that it is impossible to achieve a more insane appointment than Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in the national health portfolio. Turns out, not. What is Aaron Motsoaledi thinking? And WHERE does he find the time to produce draft regulations LEGISLATING THE AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE IN DECAFFEINATED COFFEE? Proposed legislation would, apparently, make it mandatory for ground decaf coffee to contain “not less than 0.12 percent caffeine”. …WHY? This question rang in my head, like a crazy bell, the moment I heard Jenny CW mention it on 702 at lunch time. And then I read the story in the Star when I stopped at Vida for a take-away between Atlas Studios and Interbrand Sampson. And then I googled it when I got home tonight. And nobody, NOBODY has provided an answer. Is this an international standard? Does Illy’s water-method decaf actually contain that much caffeine anyway? You would THINK that any journalist worth their salt (WE ARE SO DEVOID, IT WOULD SEEM) would ask WHY? WHY? WHY? (It’s on the front page of the biggest daily broadsheet in the country. You would hope that the story would get more attention than a 5 minute edit by a junior sub.) How can this possibly be important in a country where the doctors are either on strike or filling in work application forms for Canada, where the public hospitals are a disgrace, where no working strategy for dealing with HIV and Aids have been put in place and where the concept of primary health care is, well, like… prenatal. AND WHY? An adjoining story which garnered far more attention was Radio Presenter Gareth Cliff‘s response to her death and the subsequent fallout. Upon hearing about Manto's death, Gareth wrote on his Twitter page: Manto is dead. Good. A selfish and wicked bungler of the lowest order. Rotten attitude and rancid livers — all 3 of them … Radio Review covers off Gareth Cliff's Twitter postings…: I see Gareth Cliff from 5FM is taking some flak in the Twitterverse (big whoop) and the media about some comments he made about former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. A couple of his “Tweets” included: “That woman – Manto – and her policies on AIDS sent many thousands of people to their graves early.