- Family says a private doctor was hired by their son’s girlfriend’s family
- Allege someone must have sneaked into the hospital and attacked their son
- Hospital sources say Moswaane was a difficult patient
GAZETTE REPORTER
The Moswaane family have opened a case at Francistown Central Police station (CPS) to determine if there was no foul play in the death of Kagiso, who was the son of the MP for Francistown West, Ignatius Moswaane, The Botswana Gazette has established.
But the Commander of the police station, Lebalang Maniki, was hedging when approached. “Due to the policy we have as BPS, I am constrained to comment on individual cases,” Maniki said in an interview with The Botswana Gazette.
Kagiso succumbed to COVID-19-related complications after battling for his life at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital. However, the family suspects that someone sneaked into the hospital and attacked him. A spokesperson of the family, Lebogang Moswaane, said in an interview this week that they are deeply perturbed by allegations that the day before Kagiso died, a private doctor was hired by his girlfriend’s family to attend to him.
“On the day before his death, my brother informed the family that he was injected by that doctor while asleep in the early hours around 4am,” Lebogang said. “When he woke up, he was forced to take some tablets but managed to vomit them because he had been uncomfortable with the way the medication was administered to him. His suspicion was that there might be foul play, looking at the manner of that private doctor. Unfortunately, my brother died in the morning of that fateful day.”
According to Lebogang, before he died Kagosi told the family that he wanted the behaviour of the doctor investigated. “That is why the family has opened a case at Francistown Central Police Station because we also need an enquiry into his death. My brother was always showing signs of recovery each day while in hospital but what he revealed to the family before his death is questionable hence the decision to seek an enquiry,” Lebogang added.
Sources at the hospital have dismissed allegations made by the Moswaane family as unfounded. Nightshift staff who were on duty on that fateful day say Kagiso was a difficult patient. They say his agitation began after he was discharged from his ward only to be re-admitted before he could exit the hospital because he said he was experiencing some dizziness.
“He was put back on oxygen but he later disconnected himself after complaining that he was feeling fine and needed to be discharged,” said a source at the hospital. “He was throwing tantrums demanding to be discharged and going into other patients’ wards. I have heard that the doctors even had to call the police. At some point he collapsed in the hallway where efforts to resuscitate him failed.”
A spokesman of the hospital, Thato Moruti, says they are not aware that any case has been reported to the police about the hospital in relation to the death of a Moswaane family member. However, he said he could not say much to a third party because of doctor-patient confidentiality.
Regarding a private doctor who allegedly attended to Kagiso, Moruti said only SKTH doctors can see patients. “The hospital runs a highly regulated environment that follows stringent clinical controls that are supported by our security personnel to ensure adequate restrictions to all our clinical areas,” he said. “Only Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital doctors are allowed to see patients.”
According to Moruti, the hospital also expects all employees to carry staff identity cards that give them access to various hospital areas and that only clinical staff members are permitted in patient areas. “In addition to card controlled access, security officers man every ward to ensure that only authorised officers access clinical areas.”