Minister claims plot

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi claimed conspiracy after South African students in Cuba embarked on a hunger strike.

"We caught a series of e-mail communications with some people in South Africa, which means there was a collaboration of an onslaught on this programme with unknown people [sic]," he said.

Last month, 187 of the 1200 students who are part of the South Africa-Cuba doctor training programme went on a hunger strike and stormed the South African embassy in Cuba demanding that their $200 monthly stipend be increased to $500.

Motsoaledi would not go into further details but said the department wanted to recall six specific students from Cuba "for reasons I cannot disclose here".

He said unless these six co-operated with his inquiry they could be prevented from continuing with their studies.

The minister said the students would be subjected to psychiatric observation by the Health Professions Council to assess their mental fitness to be doctors.

So far, only three of the six targeted students have returned to South Africa.

He said the other three were refusing to come back or make full disclosure, saying they would only come back in coffins.

One of them had to be hospitalised after overdosing on pills.

She allegedly insulted doctors when she regained consciousness, before discharging herself, the minister said.

When she appeared at the university, she was taken back to hospital, subjected to psychological observation and given a clean bill of health . After that, Motsoaledi said, she disappeared.

Motsoaledi said he had no choice but to withdraw the scholarships of the three students still in Cuba.

"They can no longer be part of us because my argument is we are training doctors here who are going to deal with very vulnerable people," he said.

Motsoaledi said that on Wednesday, he was supposed to meet the three students who had returned to South Africa, but only one spoke to him.

He said a psychologist, social worker and two doctors who studied in Cuba had been sent to meet the striking students, but the students refused to meet them .

He said they also refused to receive the letters he sent them, until he threatened to remove their stipend altogether.