Ramokgopa comforts distraught mother‚ seeks answers

Gauteng acting premier Gwen Ramokgopa says the mother of a sick child who died at the Incredible Happenings Ministry had tried her best to help the toddler.

Controversy has raged over who should be held to account for the death of three-year-old Latoya Gwam on Sunday.

Ramokgopa said‚ however‚ that an investigation would determine what had gone wrong.

She was speaking after visiting the child’s mother‚ Nontombi Gwam‚ at their home in Daveyton‚ Ekurhuleni‚ on Thursday. Prophet Paseka Motsoeneng‚ known as Pastor Mboro‚ also attended the meeting.

“It is a serious setback. It is a loss for the mother‚ family and also the country. If indeed it was because of diarrhoea and the health system is able to do something about it‚ we need to understand what could have been done to prevent the death‚” said Ramokgopa.

“We are aware that there are cases that have been opened .… We would like to treat the matter as sub judice until all investigations have been done. I have instructed that there be a post-mortem done‚” she added.

“What the mother indicated to me is that the clinic did not have an opportunity to examine the child. She left the clinic because she felt that she was waiting for too long. She went to private doctors. One of the private doctors … managed to identify that the child was dehydrated and put up a drip to the child and she got better. Dehydration and diarrhoea should not be a difficulty in our health system‚” she added.

Gwam had earlier explained that she took her daughter Latoya to Daveyton Main Clinic but understood that nurses were unable to help as they had no intravenous drips. She was advised to take Latoya to hospital but not given a referral letter. A private doctor later charged R930 to put the child on a drip. Later that night‚ Latoya became restless and was taken by her mother to Pastor Mboro’s church.

Mboro prayed for the child and paramedics were summoned. Gwam estimated that it took 90 minutes from the first call for an ambulance to arrive.

Ramokgopa also visited the clinic on Thursday to hear from staff what had happened.

“I would like us to give investigations an opportunity to get [information] from all sides of the story. My main visit today was to comfort the mother and get first hand feedback from her. All other players will also get a chance to state their side of the story‚” she said.

“The mother is distraught. She took the baby to the clinic‚ made an effort to different doctors whom she found closed‚ finally got to someone who was open. She says the baby got better and when the baby became ill again‚ she felt that she should take the baby to church. From where I stand‚ the mother made an effort to get the baby well‚” said Ramokgopa.

Ramokgopa also wanted feedback from the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services to allegations that it had taken paramedics a long time to arrive.