“He could have been saved …”

“I still believe my child could have been alive if the hospital had not taken so long to attend to patients,” said Ms Joyce Tshililo Manenzhe, the mother of Bethuel Dhlamini, who was found dead a block away from the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital last week.

The 28-year-old resident of Tshikhwani village in the Sinthumule area apparently committed suicide last Thursday. His body was found hanging from a tree near the corner of Breda and Anderson Street, a short distance away from the hospital.

Earlier this week, his mother Joyce recalled the sad episode that ended in Bethuel’s death. “As usual I accompanied my child last Thursday to hospital for his medication,” she said. Bethuel had been involved in a car accident about a year ago and had suffered head injuries. His mother usually accompanied him to hospital every month when he needed to collect his medication.

At about 08:00 the morning, Joyce and Bethuel arrived at the hospital. Joyce also had to get medication for a chronic illness and the two waited patiently for her to see the doctor.

“After waiting for about three hours, my son told me he wanted to go to the bathroom. While waiting for him to come back, I was called to collect my medication by my doctor. I collected it, but then had to look for my child. I was worried about his taking so long to come back. After almost 30 minutes, I began searching in different bathrooms and consulting rooms but could not find him,” she said.

The worried mother then approached the security guards at the entrance, asking whether they had seen her son. “They said that they were not aware of my child going out of the hospital premises,” she said.

Not long after that, the mother was notified that the body of her son had been found hanging from a tree. A passer-by had noticed the body and informed the police.

Bethuel was the third-born in a family of five siblings. At the time of his death, he was staying with his mother at her house in Tshikhwani village. He used to work at a spaza shop in that area. He was not married.

Joyce believes that the accident a year ago may have contributed to his depression. “At times I could see my child was in pain. He looked worried and I used to comfort him,” she said.

Chief Mbulaheni Ramabulana, a traditional leader from the area, said that it was very sad when young people lost their lives in this manner. “This is the second time (in a short span of time) that we are experiencing such an incident,” he said. He urged young people suffering from depression to visit an organisation or government department that can give expert counselling.

Constable Tshifhiwa Radzilani from the Makhado SAPS confirmed the incident and said that the police were investigating the incident.

News - Date: 21 September 2019

Bernard Chiguvare

Bernard Chiguvare is a Zimbabwean-born journalist. He writes mainly for the online publication, Groundup.

Email: [email protected]