‘We have lost an angel’

The morale at Hayani Hospital in Sibasa is at an all-time low, following the brutal killing of a nurse by a mental patient. The incident took place last Thursday afternoon, while respected nurse Patricia Livhuwani Thanyani (51) was dispensing medication in one of the wards of the hospital.

She met her untimely death after being struck by an object. Information at this paper's disposal is that the accused was in the facility at Hayani for nearly two years after he had been brought there by the Waterval police.

News of Ms Thanyani's brutal death sent shock waves throughout the area and the medical fraternity. Soon after news of her death was made known, the MEC for Health, Ms Phophi Ramathuba, visited the hospital and the grieving family at Tshidzini, where she offered her condolences. She announced that, with the help of the national minister, they had instituted an inquiry surrounding the whole incident.

"We will look at all sides, be it security and other aspects, and get deeper into the bottom of the matter to find the real cause."

Among the people who visited the family was well-known academic and psychologist Dr Kenneth Fhatuwani Netshiombo, who is the TUT Mpumalanga campus director and a close family member, who came to offer his condolences. "We have a family club, of which she was a member. She was not an ordinary member, but a member who added value whenever we had our meetings. We have lost an angel," said Netshiombo.

Family spokesperson and the deceased's brother Mr Humbulani Hudson Magara said the news of her death came as a big surprise and shock to them. "My sister went to work as usual on Thursday and never in our wildest dreams had we expected that something bad like this would happen to her. We are greatly saddened, but the support we are getting from people like pastors and the community is fast healing our wounds and giving us comfort," he said.

Magara further indicated the family had decided to lay Ms Thanyani to rest on Saturday (tomorrow) at the local Denzhe Cemetery.

The deceased's eldest son, Takalani  (31), said his mother's death was their deepest loss ever. "When we lost our father, Johannes, in 2012, she stood in as both father and mother to us. Now she is also gone and a big void has been left in our hearts."

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Lt-Col Mashudu Malelo said that they had arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the incident and charged him with murder. "He appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court on Tuesday and his case was postponed to 27 June. The accused is in custody at the Thohoyandou Prison," he said.

Meanwhile, the DA leader in Limpopo, Mr Jacques Smalle, expressed outrage and shock about the security situation at hospitals and the attacks on nurses in Limpopo. He said the attacks did not come as a surprise as the situation of psychiatric patients had been a pressing problem for some time now. He said there was a severe shortage of facilities for psychiatric patients in the province, which led to overcrowding that exposed health staff and other patients to all forms of attacks by psychiatric patients.

"Early last month, we submitted a series of parliamentary questions for written reply to the Health MEC, seeking clarity on which hospitals do not have dedicated psychiatric wards. Unfortunately, the department has not yet responded to our questions. The DA will make sure this matter gets on top of the agenda of the health portfolio committee. Urgent intervention is required," Smalle said in a statement.

News - Date: 25 April 2016

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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