A Limpopo family has employed a private detective to investigate the death of a man killed by a psychiatric patient at Philadelphia Hospital in Dennilton at the weekend, saying they have had no communication from authorities on how or why it happened.
News24 reports that the family, which intends suing the state for pain and loss, has questions and concerns about the death of Klaas Ledwaba (33), who was killed on Sunday and who suffered multiple injuries, including a gunshot to the head, and missing teeth.
They have labelled statements by the authorities as “distortions, untruths and confusing”.
A suspect, who is under police guard in hospital, has gunshot wounds to his legs, allegedly from a security guard who was trying to diffuse the situation, while a second guard was also accidentally shot in the thigh during the fracas, apparently after a ricochet shot from his colleague.
Family spokesperson Seun Mogotji claimed the autopsy was conducted before the family had even identified Ledwaba's body or given their permission.
He questioned the rush, saying it was standard procedure that before a post-mortem is done, particularly in a case of unnatural death, that the forensic pathologist had to confirm the identity of the deceased and obtain legal authorisation first.
“Who and which law authorised the post-mortem before family could identify the body of their son?” he asked. “… our son lost his life and there is no consistent or clear message from the authorities.”
However, in South Africa, permission from the family is not required for a post-mortem examination when a death is suspected to be unnatural, as the law mandates such examinations to determine the cause of death in these cases.
Same ward
Mogoti said there had been no explanation from the hospital about why Ledwaba was in the same ward as the violent assailant, so the family had hired an independent investigation “to get to the bottom of what transpired”.
They would also refer the matter to the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, the Human Rights Commission as well as the Public Protector for investigations, he said, adding that Ledwaba had been the victim of “gross negligence, carelessness and sheer incompetence”.
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, who visited the hospital after the incident, has called for strong action to be taken against the security company, saying the guards had failed to contain the situation.
Limpopo Health Department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana told City Press a team had been appointed to conduct a comprehensive investigation, and that the police were also investigating.
On the post-mortem, he said: “It must be understood that the process of conducting an autopsy is not contingent on identification. Identification can still happen even after the autopsy has been carried out. No law says an autopsy can’t happen before a body is formally identified.”
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