|
|
Botswana: Mental Blues
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Voice (Francistown)
23 October 2007
Posted to the web 23 October 2007
Naledi Mokgwathi
Francistown
A Mahalapye couple experienced the worst time of their lives when they were locked up at Lobatse Mental Hospital for donating their car to church.
50-year-old Davis Molosi of Mahalapye told The Voice that he was arrested and detained by the police after he wrote a letter to the District Commissioner (DC) Mothibi Monyakeng, asking why his children were attending classes under a tree at Flowertown Primary School in Mahalapye. His wife, Sophie Molosi was later detained and committed to hospital as well.
But the cause of their mental hospital detaining may have little to do with the letter to the school.
The aggrieved man's mother, Kelejwa Molosi, 86, revealed to The Voice that she was behind the lock up. She said she signed the forms for his son to be locked up at the mental hospital because he had donated his car to church, saying he was giving it to God.
Sophie' sister who signed the papers, Dora Thabeng said: "That person is mad. She gave away her car to the church. There are many examples I can give to substantiate that. All I can say is that she is mad. How can a normal person retire from her job for no good reason?" she asked.
Molosi's mother told The Voice that she committed him because she believed her son was insane, as his behaviour was awkward and strange. The mother of the detained man said that she had heard that he had been praying and preaching to some people.
She said: "My son used to listen to me, but recently he hasn't been himself. He is now rude to me. He usually scolds me saying that I don't believe in Jesus."
She said she suspected Molosi's wife to be also crazy because she prays too often.
"She is a God fearing woman. I think she is overdoing it. She can pray the whole day," said the old woman. "I wouldn't wrongfully commit my son to a mental hospital because he is the breadwinner. I wanted him to receive treatment before his condition worsened," she added.
Explaining events that landed him at the mental hospital, the visibly devastated Molosi said: "I found my children attending classes under the tree and I questioned the relevant authorities. Their teacher told me that all the classes were occupied."
Not satisfied with the response, Molosi said he wrote a strong worded letter to the DC, Member of Parliament for the area, Otlhogile Tshireletso, the councillor and the Department of Education, asking them to inspect the school and avail resources.
He claims that while waiting for a response, he was invited to the DC's officer where he found the DC, a nurse and two policemen. "Instead of giving me answers, the DC asked the nurse to inspect my state of mind and she replied that I was insane. Monyakeng ordered the nurse to vaccinate me and told the cops to take me to Lobatse Mental Hospital," said Molosi.
These shocking events, he claimed, caught up with his wife, Sophie Molosi when she had gone to visit him at the hospital. "She was arrested, detained and vaccinated as well," he said.
Relating her side of the story, Sophie said she was just about to enter the gates of the mental hospital when a police van stopped her. "Police officers approached me and told me that they were given instructions to detain and take me into the mental hospital," said the devastated wife, adding, "When I got into hospital, doctors asked me strange and awkward questions such as 'have I ever had thoughts of committing suicide or killing someone'. These questions were ridiculous," She quipped.
She said she was later asked about the car they donated to their church.
"The Bible says blessed is the hand that gives than the one that receives. I don't find anything strange about giving to church. I recently heard that a certain man had donated to his church, the church did not classify that person as insane."
HOSPITAL ABUSE
The couple complained about the vaccination, saying it makes their mouth dry and makes them tired all the time. He accused nurses of assaulting him while in hospital.
"A lot of patients get beaten here. There are many cases of assault at this mental hospital. If you look around the premises you'll find a lot of insane people with bruises from these beatings."
He feels they are being harassed for no apparent reason.
"When I called my mother to ask why she agreed to commit me to mental hospital, she said that she was told that I had written a very bad letter and that she needed to sign."
Lobatse Mental Hospital Director, Paul Sidandi said: "In view of the sensitive nature of this case, ethical consideration, legal implications and terms of confidentiality, we need to protect the identity of the concerned patients. We have referred the matter to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Colo Boitshoko for further advice."
Boitshoko on the other hand, said he couldn't comment on individuals. He said that he knew that the procedure is not for hospitals to go around scouting for patients, saying that those who think they might be mad are examined by the doctor and a final decision is then made to admit them.
|
Adrian Bayford of Bayford Botha Attorneys confirmed that he is handling the case on behalf of Molosi and his wife. He said he was still investigating the matter. The implicated DC refused to comment on the matter.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2007 The Voice. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
