When Klaas Ledwaba’s family admitted him to the psychiatric ward of Philadelphia Hospital in Dennilton, Limpopo last week, they didn’t expect that just a few days later, he would be dead.
Ledwaba, 33, was shot and killed at the weekend in a gruesome attack. But the circumstances surrounding his death are unusual.
Gruesome attack
According to sources, in the early hours of Saturday, 8 March, another patient in the ward, a 45-year-old man, allegedly went into a rage and started attacking those around him.
Police were called to de-escalate the situation, but were met with a gruesome scene.
“A male suspect was found on top of a lifeless body of a male person covered in blood. The attacker was allegedly biting the genitals of his victim. The deceased [Ledwaba] sustained a gunshot wound to the head along with multiple other injuries, including missing teeth,” says Limpopo provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba.
The suspect suffered gunshot wounds to both legs allegedly inflicted by a security officer who was attempting to defuse the situation.
“Additionally, a security officer sustained gunshot wounds to the thigh reportedly caused by a ricochet bullet fired by his colleague during the incident. Several spent cartridges were recovered from the scene”, says Mashaba.
‘Who shot Klaas?’
While police are investigating this attack, Ledwaba’s family have serious questions.
“His death remains surrounded by confusion and conflicting reports. Who is responsible for the gunshot that took Klaas’ life? Was he shot by the hospital’s private security personnel whose handling of the situation has raised serious concerns about their competence and firearm training?
“Or did the shot come from members of the police who arrived at the scene?” asks Seun Mogotji, speaking on behalf of the family.
Mogotji is also skeptical of what police allegedly witnessed. “I viewed the deceased’s body at the mortuary on 10 March and saw no serious injuries to the man’s private parts,” stresses the family spokesperson.
“Justice must be served and those responsible for his death directly or indirectly must be held to account.”
Nurses’ safety concerns highlighted
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) says this incident confirms ongoing concerns being raised daily by nurses on the state of security in public health facilities across Limpopo.
“This gruesome incident has psychologically traumatised the two female nurses who were on duty in that psychiatric ward, nursing both male and female patients. The ward accommodates both acute and chronic patients without any security officer allocated to support nurses in managing aggressive patients who require restraint and seclusion,” says Jacob Molepo, DENOSA’s provincial secretary.
“In addition, the ward doesn’t have a seclusion room which makes it difficult to manage aggressive and violent psychiatric patients.
“We further call upon the department to refrain from allocating only female nurses to attend to psychiatric male patients without the support of male nurses,” adds Molepo.
Psychosocial support offered
Neil Shikwambana, spokesperson for the Limpopo health department says psychosocial support is being offered to Klaas’ family and the staff at the hospital.
Shikwambana says psychiatric patients are assessed regularly to determine their status, and not all of them are supposed to be in seclusion rooms.
“We have special wards in our hospitals to deal with mental health admissions where patients are treated and discharged. Those who are deemed qualifying are referred to one of our three specialised mental hospitals, Evuxakeni, Hayani and Thabamoopo. Psychiatric wards in all our facilities are manned by security personnel,” Shikwambana tells Health-e News.
On the suspension of the security company whose guards were on duty at the hospital, Shikwambana says it’s not a decision that is taken “arbitrarily”. “There are processes that need to be followed in doing that.”
Blame shifting
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and deputy police minister Polly Boshielo visited the hospital hours after news of the incident broke.
Motsoaledi lashed out at the private security company for failing to safely restrain the alleged attacker, who it’s claimed was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time. He called for the immediate suspension of the security company, saying the two armed guards first ran away from the aggressive patient but returned to fire at him with bullets through a locked gate.
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Health-e News could not immediately get hold of the private security company concerned but learned from sources that at least ten guards who were on duty on the day have been suspended.
Judas Seopela, deputy secretary of Sekhukhune Security Crisis and Demands Forum vehemently condemns the government for what he calls its tendency to shift blame for almost every ill at institutions to private security guards.
“In a hospital situation nurses, doctors and allied health workers have their training certificates to administer health services to patients. When they fail they point fingers at us. We have certificates in security training, not in health,” says Seopela.
Motsoaledi also criticised police officers who arrived at the scene for allegedly failing to act on the situation “before getting orders from the public order policing unit”.
Klaas Ledwaba who is survived by his two children, his sister and his mother, will be buried at Uitvlug, Ga-Botha on Saturday, 15 March. – Health-e News
