‘€˜Tyrant’€™ Manana made to pay doctor

The Johannesburg Labour Court has described former Mpumalanga Health MEC Sibongile Manana as a tyrannical and dictatorial manager with those daring to oppose her becoming victims of her wrath.

Manana, who is now a Member of Parliament, is widely blamed for the ongoing shambles in the Mpumalanga Health Department which is reeling under massive staff vacancies and unable to deliver proper health services to a province where most of the people are poor and rely on the state for healthcare.

A damning judgment delivered this week in the Johannesburg Labour Court came seven years after Dr Malcolm Naude had effectively been dismissed by Manana for supporting the dispensing of antiretrovirals for rape survivors in Nelspruit’€™s Rob Ferreira Hospital.

Judge CJ Musi ruled that Naude has been unfairly dismissed and ordered Manana to pay him R100 000 in compensation as well as his legal costs.

Naude was dismissed from Rob Ferreira Hospital in 2001 for dispensing ARVs despite government policy to the contrary. Naude was one of the signatories of a memorandum which called on Manana to review the ARV policy. He also wrote an affidavit in support of the Greater Nelspruit Intervention Programme (GRIP) which had been evicted from the hospital premises by Manana for providing ARVs as a post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection in rape survivors. This wasn’€™t government policy at the time.

Naude’€™s boss and superintendent at Rob Ferreira Hospital, Dr Thys von Mollendorf was also fired for supporting GRIP.

Judge Musi found Naude and Von Mollendorf, who testified in support of Naude, to be credible and reliable witnesses.

However, Judge Musi described the evidence presented by Manana’€™s witnesses ‘€“ Human Resources deputy director James Khaliswayo, personnel officer Rabeng Tshukudu, Ehlanzeni District Health Manager Gladness Mantwa Mathebula and Manana’€™s legal advisor Ms Mnisi – to be improbable, disingenuous, unhelpful, not true and to be rejected for lack of credibility. Musi rejected outright some of the evidence presented in support of Manana.

‘€œI am not impressed by her amnesia,’€ the judge said, referring to Mathebula’€™s inability to recall any of the details surrounding Naude’€™s dismissal.

‘€œMr Tshukudu too was not immune to the amnesia that plagued some of the officials in the department in relation to the applicant’€™s (Naude’€™s) matter,’€ Judge Musi said in his ruling.

The judge said that Khaliswayo’€™s evidence was disingenuous and did not ‘€œpass muster, attracts serious criticism and is in some respects improbable’€.

‘€œMs Mnisi also did not impress me as a credible witness. When she was asked about the respondent’€™s (Manana’€™s) attitude in relation to providing ARVs, her answer was embarrassingly vague and untruthful. At some stage she said she does not know what the respondent’€™s attitude was or she never objected thoroughly (whatever she means) to ARVs being provided.

‘€œIt was clear that the fight against GRIP was bigger than the simplistic issue of them occupying space at Rob Ferreira Hospital. Even this Mnisi did not want to concede.

‘€œI find that Mnisi is also a very unreliable witness who tried everything to sugarcoat the respondent’€™s words and deeds and if needs be at the expense of her own integrity,’€ Judge Musi said

He added that the evidence ‘€œinescapably suggests that the respondent (Manana) kept the department on a tight leash.

‘€œShe was tyrannical and dictatorial in her management style. Those who opposed her became victims of her wrath ‘€“ Kareen Swart (district health manager who endorsed GRIP), Von Mollendorf, the medical doctors at Rob Ferreira and GRIP bear testimony to that. Her unrelenting opposition to GRIP and the supply of ARVs to rape survivors would not even allow her to make a concession for rape survivors who are children.’€

Judge Musi said Manana had been enraged by the memorandum which called for ARVs to be dispensed and for GRIP to remain in the hospital – ‘€œ’€¦they (signatories) effectively did what the respondent thought was her exclusive prerogative; using public platforms to state her case unopposed.’€

‘€œThe respondent’€™s management style probably explains why she instilled such fear in officials with the department,’€ said Judge Musi.

During her tenure as Health MEC Manana, courted infamy with her dissident views on HIV/AIDS.

The court papers revealed that in a meeting between the AIDS Law Project and Manana over the GRIP case she ‘€œviolently opposed’€ any suggestion that doctors prescribe ARVs for children who had been raped. She told the lawyers that ‘€œher’€ doctors would not prescribe ARVs.

It was also revealed that a furious Manana had called a meeting with Rob Ferreira hospital management and the district health manager after she had evicted GRIP. She said during this meeting that ARVs were poisonous.

The Treatment Action Campaign later threatened her with contempt of court charges unless she complied with the High Court ruling ordering the incremental roll-out of nevirapine in the prevention of mother to child transmission.

National Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang responded at the time that if her provincial MEC was jailed for contempt of court, they would have to jail her as well.

Naude in an earlier interview commented on the fact that Manana was now a member of parliament and former Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang had been voted onto the ANC’€™s National Executive Committee:

‘€œI think it’€™s very sad to see that people who have basically abused human rights on a gross level such as this are being rewarded. It would be nice to see some kind of retribution. But just a recording of their crimes, in my opinion, is one step towards people much later looking back and seeing that human life at one stage, despite our Constitution, is treated cheaply, especially if you’€™re poor and don’€™t have access. If you’€™re rich and have support from your cronies, there things are going well. It’€™s shocking,’€ Naude said.

Naude suffered a stroke shortly before the verdict and was not in court to enjoy his victory after his seven-year struggle.

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