For three years the corpse of a one-day-old boy has been lying in the mortuary of a Polokwane hospital, as health officials and the child’s family argue over the cause of death and responsibility.
The Dikotla family claim that they have been shoved around in trying to get both access to their grandson’s body for cultural rituals and to bury the child.
The Limpopo department of health vehemently denies the claim, with spokesperson Neil Shikwambana saying the family has frustrated their efforts to help them find closure.
On March 29 2018, the Dikotlas’ then 15-year-old daughter, Malebo Dikotla, went into labour at their home in Mankweng.
After she was rushed to Mankweng tertiary hospital, the family alleged that a doctor misdiagnosed the pregnancy and gave their daughter an injection for the pain before sending her home.
Hours after arriving home, Malebo gave birth.
David Dikotla and his wife Ester rushed their daughter back to the hospital, where she was taken to the maternity ward with her son.
“He was alive. He was crying. Thirty minutes after we got to the hospital, we were told the baby was dead.”
He claimed hospital staff had pushed them to have the body collected for burial shortly after the death and offered to assist them.
Dikotla said while they accepted the assistance, “it was on condition an autopsy was first conducted.
“We wanted to know the exact cause of death before we buried our child. We suspected the injection may have had something to do with the death.”
Dikotla said throughout 2018, the department and the Limpopo social development department had tried to get them to bury their grandson.
“They even gave us the name of a funeral parlour that would help us.”
A letter from the Limpopo social development department written on August 14 2018 shows the department offering to arrange the burial as requested by the family.
“We thanked them but said we would not bury until we knew what had happened.”
Dikotla said it was only in December 2018 that an autopsy was performed.
“We had no idea that it was done. The autopsy was done at the Polokwane provincial hospital mortuary. We only learnt of it when we were given the results in February 2020.”
State forensic documents seen by Sunday Times Daily show the autopsy was performed on December 14 2018, with the cause of death ruled as inconclusive “due to the extent of decomposition”.
An affidavit signed by Dr Thakadu Mamashela on February 6 2020 confirmed he performed the autopsy.
In the report Mamashela stated: “The postmortem examination revealed signs suggestive of a foetus that was at least seven to nine months, indicative of a viable foetus. ”
His report adds that a “laboratory investigation” was required, with DNA to be taken “for analysis to confirm the identity of the human remains”.
Dikotla claims it was only when they received Mamashela’s affidavit that they were given the autopsy results.
He said they only received it after taking their plight onto social media.
“Late in 2019, when we were demanding that the department do an autopsy and give us the results, the police said Malebo must provide them with DNA.
“They said DNA was needed to confirm the remains were in fact those of her son. For months my grandson has been in the mortuary. Everyone has known it was him. Then suddenly they want DNA to prove it is him.”
An affidavit by warrant officer Znele Zuma, at the SAPS national forensic laboratory, states “the probability of maternity is 99.99%”.
Dikotla said it was shortly after they obtained a medico-legal report on what the family believed was the cause of death that police questioned him about the paternity.
“The department claims we hid things. I cooperated with police, who questioned my daughter, who took them to her boyfriend, who confirmed he was the father. The court declined to prosecute.”
Shikwambana said the baby was a premature stillborn delivered at home.
“The family requested the hospital to assist with the burial of the child. The hospital made arrangements.
The hospital has never withheld the remains of the child. The family can collect the remains any day. A postmortem indicates natural causes as the cause of death.
— Limpopo department of health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana
“When the funeral was supposed to take place, the family brought a lawyer who alleged that the hospital is responsible for the death due to an injection the patient was given by nurses earlier due to urinary tract infection.”
He said the mother refused to take the remains for burial, and approached the health MEC.
“The MEC immediately sought to pursue statutory rape against the person who impregnated the girl. The family then disappeared for months, leaving the body of the child at the hospital mortuary.
“In the process, the family sent the department letters of demand for financial compensation. We believed the court route would assist us by not only providing us with a platform to clear our name, but also to get justice for a girl child who has been violated by a man whom we believe the family is protecting.”
He said at the beginning of 2020, the family returned to the hospital to demand the remains.
Shikwambana said because the body had been in the mortuary for almost two years and was unidentifiable, the hospital had to conduct DNA tests to ascertain that it was releasing the correct body.
He said the agreement was that after the DNA results came out confirming the body, the body would be released for burial.
“After the DNA results, the family requested to conduct a traditional ritual at the hospital. In August of 2020, the hospital allowed the family to do the rituals, and agreed with the family that immediately after conducting the rituals they will take the body for burial. We allowed this ... to bring this issue to finality.”
The rituals were performed in February 2021.
“But then they said they were no longer ready to collect the body. That is why the body is still at the hospital mortuary. The hospital has never withheld the remains of the child. The family can collect the remains any day.”
He denied that the death had been covered up.
“A postmortem indicates natural causes as the cause of death.”
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