The death of Omikuye Jozana, just eight months old, highlights deep cracks in a strained public health system
Peter Luhanga
- Western Cape’s Dunoon clinic overwhelmed by resource shortages.
- Delayed emergency medical services cost a baby’s life.
- Distraught family pleads for transparency and justice.
- Top doctor vows to launch probe and hold staff to account.
The quality of care in the province’s health system is being raised by a Dunoon mother whose eight-month-old daughter died after waiting more than eight hours for an ambulance.
Somila Jozana’s child Omikuye – the youngest of four – died after being taken to the Dunoon Community Health Centre on 19 February, and she is demanding accountability from Western Cape health officials.
Jozana, who lives in Dunoon’s Siyahlala informal settlement, said she took Omikuye to the community health centre just before 9m. A doctor checked her baby gave her antibiotics while they waited for an ambulance to arrive and move her to New Somerset Hospital.
But the ambulance didn’t show up.
Between 9pm and 5am, Omikuye’s condition deteriorated. As her temperature spiked, a doctor attempted multiple times to insert a drip, jabbing Omikuye’s tiny arms, legs and even her head, but failed to find a vein.
Jozana says the doctor eventually gave up and walked away. She says when she begged for reassurance, all she got was a “mmm-hmm”.
She described a scene of desperation and trauma, where the doctor, visibly defeated, eventually gave up.
By 5am, the baby had stopped breathing. When the ambulance finally arrived thereafter, it was too late.
A case has been registered with Milnerton police, and the cause of Omikuye’s death is under investigation. Jozana says no trauma counselling was offered.
Grieving father, Luthando Jozana, along with community leaders, was at a tense meeting at Dunoon Community Health Centre last Friday, demanding answers for his baby girl’s death.
In the hospital’s boardroom, Luthando played a heart wrenching voice note from Somila, who said she felt “let down” and called the way her daughter died “inhumane”.
Health bosses, including senior doctor at the Dunoon Community Health Centre, Dr Adil Razack, admitted the facility is stretched to breaking point; they’ve lost three doctors and are now relying on junior staff just to keep the doors open.
They also blamed ambulance delays, saying the system is failing patients when it matters most.
“We also have a challenge with ambulances. When we request one, it only arrives the next day. The ambulance services prioritise the community, not the health facility,” said Razack.
Luthando asked Razack: “What would you do if it was your child?”
The doctor, visibly shaken, replied: “I can’t imagine how it would feel. I wish I could go back to that day and make it different.”
Provincial health quality assurance manager Rehan Hall tried to console the family.
“We’re very sorry. We don’t want people to die. Never. Especially not small babies. We don’t want babies to ever die here. It’s a tragedy,” said Hall.
At that point, Luthando broke down in tears.
Razack promised to launch a full investigation into what went wrong and to request a forensic post-mortem to determine the exact cause of baby Omikuye’s death.
He assured the grieving family that if any negligence was found, those responsible would be held to account.
Somila said she still doesn’t know what caused her baby’s death and is desperate for answers. “We know nothing will bring our daughter back but we have the right to know what happened,” she said.
“We want the truth. We want justice for our child and we don’t want any other parent to go through what we’ve been through when seeking medical help,” she said.
The provincial health department acknowledged receipt of our detailed queries. Spokesperson Maret Lesch said the department required more time to respond, citing clinical teams being engaged in patient care and therefore unable to reply at short notice.