Durban dentist Anwar Mohamed Jeewa, convicted of culpable homicide for the death of a Canadian father, Milos Martinovic, who died at his unregistered detox centre after being given controversial Ibogaine treatment, is to put his dentistry skills to good use.
Jeewa narrowly avoided being sent to jail and instead was sentenced to three years’ correctional supervision.
As part of that sentence, Durban high court judge Rashid Vahed ordered Jeewa do 25 hours’ correctional service every month, fixing the teeth of inmates at Westville Prison.
Jeewa was also ordered to pay a fine of R50,000 (or five years’ imprisonment in default) for five “statutory counts” for the unlawful manufacture, compounding, selling and dispensing of Ibogaine, a schedule 6 substance.
He was sentenced to a fine of R5,000 for running his unregistered clinic, Minds Alive, in Westville, but that sentence was wholly suspended.
Prosecutor Nadira Moosa argued for direct imprisonment.
She said Martinovic had died a lonely death and people needed to know treatment facilities, which were desperately needed, were safe.
Vahed said he had “agonised” over what sentence to impose.
He said, however, contrary to popular suggestions, correctional supervision was not a light sentence.
“Hopefully when it is considered after mature reflection by all, it will be regarded as one which has been imposed to punish the accused and populist baying for direct imprisonment will be abandoned,” he said.
Evidence before the court was Martinovic had checked himself into the clinic in November 2017 believing Jeewa could cure him from his addiction to opiates and benzodiazepines, which he had started taking after his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.
Jeewa had a strong presence on social media as a “specialist” with extensive knowledge of Ibogaine therapy.
Two days later Martinovic died from cardiac arrest after he had been allowed to continue self-medicating with Xanax while being given the Ibogaine treatment.
Vahed found that Jeewa had been negligent.
Apart from allowing Martinovic to self-medicate and having been given Ibogaine without being tested for residual levels of Xanax in his body, he had also not been properly monitored by properly qualified nurses and there was no proper emergency procedure facilities in place.
In passing sentence on Thursday, the judge said had Jeewa not conducted himself in this manner “we would not be here today”, because Martinovic’s death was entirely avoidable.
He said officials from the department of health and social development had repeatedly warned Jeewa to shut down the clinic, “but it’s plain he ignored these admonitions”.
He said the state officials could also be blamed for doing nothing except issue “empty warnings” instead of shutting it down.
Earlier in the proceedings, Jeewa testified in mitigation of sentence, saying he was sincerely sorry for what happened and “I am not a bad person”.
He claimed he was just trying to help people.
“I sincerely apologise to Brooke (Rombough, Martinovic’s fiancé and mother of his child). I know he was a wonderful man.”
But Vahed said he was not convinced Jeewa was truly remorseful, “though I acknowledge that there has been an attempt to demonstrate it”.
He said everyone in the courtroom had “no doubt felt the pain” of Martinovic’s family.
Referring to Rombough’s victim impact statement, he said “the pain that jumps out in the words on the pages is palpable”.
“Their young daughter is now seven years old and for her entire life, she will not know her father, except for memories imparted to her.”
During the trial, Rombough came to South Africa to testify about the impact of the death of the “love of my life”.
She said Martinovic was desperate to rid himself of his addictions and trusted Jeewa. Their child was only eight months old when he died. In her victim impact statement, she said the little girl went to sleep every night with a picture of him.
“When Jeewa marketed his rehabilitation centre on the internet, he represented South Africa. Milos and I, like the rest of the world, looked at South Africa as a country that was well equipped in at least the medical field.
“We incorrectly assumed doctors from South Africa were among the best in the world. Anwar Jeewa has not only hurt my immediate family but through his action has harmed the image of his country,” she said.
