Cape Town – It been nearly two years since Teketeke Gqotsi’s body was found in the ceiling of an isolated section of Stellenbosch Hospital, and his family said they were still in the dark as to how he ended up there.
Gqotsi’s brother, Christmas Khethwane, said: “We are losing hope. No one has answers for us.”
The family has accused the provincial health department and police of keeping them “in the dark” about what happened to the 61-year-old.
Gqotsi was found by construction workers 13 days after he disappeared from his ward.
He was admitted to the hospital on October 5, 2017 for abdominal surgery.
At the time, the Western Cape Health Department said a nurse had gone to get clean linen, but Gqotsi was not there when she returned.
Khethwane said the last time officials communicated with them regarding Gqotsi’s death was after the Cape Times reported on the incident.
“All we want is answers from the hospital about what happened to our brother. That will give us closure,” he said.
The family said the hospital never informed them of Gqotsi’s disappearance and did little to search for him.
An inquest into his death was opened for investigation.
Khethwane said: “Even the officer assigned to the case lost interest I have met with his daughter and she agreed with a possibility of taking legal action against the hospital.”
Approached for comment, Stellenbosch Hospital medical manager Dr Richard Davids said: “We have extensively communicated around this issue. That’s all I will say. There has been communication with the family.”
He referred questions to the department’s Cape Winelands District communications officer, Sandra Maritz.
Maritz said the case was referred to the SAPS for investigation, as well as the Department of Health.
When Davids’s statement was put to Khethwane and Gqotsi’s daughter, Nopink, she said: “That’s lies. They only met us when we went to the hospital (after the death).
"They will never say that to our faces. They didn’t even bother informing the police about his disappearance. We did.”
Nopink said the investigator told them her father died of natural causes and “there is nothing we can do”.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said the autopsy results showed Gqotsi died of natural
causes.
“The family was informed about the outcome of the post-mortem.
“Please advise them to contact Colonel Beneke of Stellenbosch detectives on 082 850 9742 should they have more questions,” he said.