Six people have been arrested countrywide after an HPCSA compliance raid – with five unregistered and one suspended practitioner being arrested, and those employing some as illegal locums also being in hot water.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa’s Inspectorate Division said it has intensified nationwide compliance enforcement, and that the individuals were picked up between 27 October and 5 November in operations spanning the Western Cape, Limpopo, Gauteng and the Free State.
In the Cape, officials had inspected the Trust Women Clinic after a complaint about unlawful abortion services: a Ugandan national running the facility admitted to being unregistered, and was arrested.
At a separate inspection at Dunoon Primary Healthcare Centre, an unregistered Congolese national was found practising as a locum medical practitioner under Dr Mwana Lukuitshi. He said he had been working there since January 2025 – and was arrested for practising illegally without registration.
Lukuitshi’s conduct will be referred to the Professional Board for Medical and Dental for investigation into the employment of an unregistered individual as a locum medical practitioner.
In Polokwane, a woman was arrested for working as a dentist: she was not registered with the HPCSA.
In Gauteng, at another reactive inspection in Randburg – the Medicomfort 24-Hour Clinic on Bram Fischer Drive, registered under Dr Ntombikayise Ngonyama – a Congolese woman was found working as a locum doctor. She claimed to have been practising there since 1 September 2026, but verification proved she was unregistered. She was arrested and detained.
Ngonyama’s conduct will be referred to the relevant Professional Board for employing an unregistered individual.
In a separate operation in Randburg that same day, Dr Daniel Andrew Echun was arrested for practising illegally – while having been suspended by the HPCSA since 2012.
Despite previous HPCSA interventions, including a police report in August 2022 and a formal warning in 2023, Echun continued to practise. Because the HPCSA retains jurisdiction over suspended practitioners, his case will be referred to the relevant Professional Board.
Details regarding his first court appearance are still being established.
The final operation took place in Sasolburg, where officials inspected the medical practice of Dr Olivier Bonga Nsasi, an HPCSA-registered practitioner, at Fichardt Square.
A male Congolese national was found working as a locum despite not being registered. Preliminary investigations established that Nsasi had employed him since September 2025.
The man was arrested and detained at Sasolburg SAPS, where he remains pending his court appearance, and Nsasi’s conduct will be referred to the relevant Professional Board for employing an unregistered individual.
Healthcare practitioners’ registration status can be verified through the HPCSA’s iRegister at www.hpcsa.co.za or by contacting the HPCSA on 012 338 9300/1. Suspected cases of illegal practice can be reported to the HPCSA Inspectorate Division at InspectorateOffice@hpcsa.co.za.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Unregistered PMB doctor arrested
HPCSA arrests another unregistered doctor, warns public to check practitioners
More than 120 unregistered doctors arrested in ongoing blitz