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The place of the incident.
- HPCSA President Dr. Kgosi Letlape has said the council will approach the presidency to intervene in the criminal matter against anesthetist Dr. Abdulhay Munshi and pediatric surgeon Dr. Peter Beale.
- He said the council was “disturbed” by what happened on Wednesday and expressed disappointment that the medical profession had been criminalized with a “disastrous” result.
- Munshi was shot and killed by an unknown suspect. He was a co-defendant in a wrongful death case along with pediatric surgeon Dr. Peter Beale.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) plans to bring the matter of the death of anesthetist Dr. Abdulhay Munshi to the presidency.
READ | Doctor charged with wrongful death shot in Johannesburg
In a briefing on Thursday, the day after Munshi was shot and killed in Johannesburg, HPCSA President Dr. Kgosi Letlape denounced the murder in the strongest terms.
“As councilor we are extremely disturbed by what happened and how we have tried to intervene in the matter and ensure that the profession is treated with respect and that professional acts are not criminalized and that the laws of the country are followed in terms of procedure,” Letlape. said.
He said the council had previously written to the relevant authorities to take the matter out of court without success.
Letlape said the HPCSA will now go to the president for help.
“We are planning to write to the authorities again to make sure this matter is removed from the criminal courts and the laws of the country are followed, we will continue with that matter.”
“We will revalue the minister to whom we report on these matters and we will transfer the matter to the highest office in the country: the Presidency of the Republic.
“We believe that this is a sad day and it is dangerous if health professionals are to be treated like criminals. We hope this is corrected as soon as possible.”
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Munshi was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon by an unknown suspect.
News24 was on the scene hours after the shooting and understands that nothing was stolen from his car. The motive for the shooting is still unknown.
Beale and Munshi were brought to court on wrongful death charges last year following the death of a 10-year-old boy following an operation with Beale, during which Munshi assisted.
Letlape said the HPCSA investigation into the matter was hampered by the family’s decision to take the matter to court, especially their investigation into Munshi.
The HPCSA now seeks to rewrite the policies and regulations within the council to avoid delays in investigations and which will make the HPCSA function more like a court of law.
Criminalization of medicine
In addition, he denounced Munshi’s murder and said it meant bad news for health professionals.
“If South Africans are going to criminalize the practice of medicine, it will be a sad day because … people will be afraid to take care of their citizens.”
Letlape explained that certain processes must be followed when complaints are filed against doctors and criticized the justice group for “criminalizing the profession.”
“We are extremely disappointed by the fact that the legislators and the police, who are supposed to protect us all and uphold the rule of law, decided not to uphold the rule of law in this case and criminalize the profession with disastrous consequences.
READ ALSO | The murder of Dr. Abdulhay Munshi is ‘outrageous and deplorable’ – SAMA
