'Bogus' medic is struck off
A NEUROSURGEON who might have been involved in major operations at the Steve Biko and Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospitals is alleged to have fake qualifications.
PRACTIsED HERE: Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital PHOTO: KATHERINE MUICK-MERE
Dr Nyunyi Wambuyi Katumba, who has been struck off the roll by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), also worked at Mediclinic Medforum in Pretoria.
Despite having worked illegally for four years, the HPCSA said it would not lay fraud charges against Katumba because their mandate is only to deregister him.
Health Department spokesman Fidel Radebe said they were investigating if Katumba had been involved in any major operations at Steve Biko and Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospitals.
It is alleged that Katumba, believed to be from Zimbabwe, failed to prove that he was a qualified doctor.
Sowetan was told that his qualifications were questioned while he was working as a neurosurgeon at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.
Katumba was fired from the Pretoria hospital when his contract expired in 2010, but he later got the same post at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto .
A source at this hospital told Sowetan yesterday that management had questioned his qualifications because he was not competent.
The acting HPCSA registrar, Dr Kgosi Letlape, confirmed yesterday that Katumba had been deregistered.
According to law it would be a criminal offence for him to practice medicine in South Africa.
"His name was erased from the register of medical practitioners of the Health Professions Council of South Africa earlier this month in terms of the council's mandate to protect the public," Letlape said.
He said Katumba was dismissed after unsuccessful attempts to verify the authenticity of his specialist registrations in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
"We requested proof that he had completed vocational training in neurosurgery, proof of a postgraduate qualification in neurosurgery and proof of registration as a registrar/specialist in the country where he had trained, but to no avail," Letlape said.
Katumba told Sowetan yesterday that he was a qualified neurosurgeon and would take the HPCSA to task for firing him. "I qualified in Congo in 1979 and I find the move by the HPCSA to erase me from its list unfair and insulting."
Asked to produce evidence, Katumba said he would only do that if we told him who our source was.
Letlape said people who practised medicine without qualifications were damaging the profession. "A patient's right to healthcare could be compromised by a practitioner without qualifications," he said.
mbondozi
This fraudster is now pointing Congo in 1979 , Congo has been in civil war God knows when. All the documents have been destroyed by war that's why this fake medical doctor from Zimbabwe is pointing Congo. What disgust me more is why this criminal still outside having interview with Sowetan instead of being locked up safe in jail. This guy is everything , a fake doctor , a fraudster, a lair and a cheat. This is one of the undesirable scum of the earth we don't need in this country. They abuse our kindness , that's how they reward us .Report Abuse
charlietso
This is absolute nonsense, nowhere in Zimbabwe would u eva find anyone with a name like Nyunyi Wambuyi Katumba, it's absolutely Congolese!!! Hate us all you want, but medical professionals from Zimbabwe remain among the best in Africa, not to mention other professionals from the country helping to run your economy...Mbondozi my friend, some of us are in South Africa because of our skills, not because of your alleged kindness, get a grip on yourself..Some of us work for Multinationals with jobs you can only have in your dreams, we are only domiciled in SA because that's where the regional offices are. I hate it when you just insult Zimbabweans when we also helped your fathers during your liberation struggle.....if you were privy to even your own government's internal reports of how Zimbabwean critical skills were upholding your economy you would show more respectReport Abuse
Bhekhumuzi
To prevent this happening in future the Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospital and Pretoria hospital must outsource their human resources to a company that specialises in human resource solutions. Unfortunately every business in the world is vulnerable to professional con-artists.Report Abuse
mbondozi
@charlietsoListen mate , if you think I am going to apologise for what I said above think again cause I won't. It's the article that mention the word Zimbabwe because of the interview they had with this doctor. This doctor told the Sowetan that he's from Zimbabwe , why do you blame me now? If you read my comment properly you'll notice that I mentioned criminals who abuse our kindness , I am not sh*tting on the heads of law abiding Zimbabweans. Okay now since you have took the gloves off , how about this? You claim that professionals from Zimbabwe remain among the best in Africa. My question is if that's a fact , why your President Robert Mugabe fly half the world to Asian Hospital looking for treatment while back home he has best of the best doctors? He is not the only one who seek medical help in other countries , a lot of them are here in SA. Stop lying and be honest , at the moment there's nothing works in Zimbabwe.
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Silentstorm2010
@ Charliesto if you and the 'apparently' many other professionals are helping to run our country,as you allege...how and what is your country benefitting from you?You also mention that Zimbabwe helped our leaders during the barbaric era...u,however,fail to remember or u conveniently forget that the was political turmoil here and they were fighting the system from many parts of the world......what is it that u and ur fellow Zims r doing to make sure that some day...ur ppl will go back home?Report Abuse
kadotch
@charlietsou r talking absolute sh!t, your people are fraudsters with fake everything, from dicks to identities. don't u dare come here n write bullsh!t!
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kadotch
@sowetanhow do i sue the hospital for hiring a non qualified doctor who did sh!t on my body?
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