Family demands justice over death of father of three after ‘assault’ in illegal rehab clinic
Muhammed Shaik was determined to beat his cocaine addiction, for the sake of his wife and three young children.
When he checked into the Crescent of Hope rehabilitation centre in Magaliesburg, Gauteng, last month, his family was hopeful he would soon be “clean” and back at home.
But 48 hours later he was in hospital fighting for his life after being severely assaulted — allegedly by staff and patients.
In a coma for two weeks, he died after doctors advised his family to switch off life support last Sunday.
The illegal rehab unit, north of Johannesburg, is being shut by the authorities.
Shaik, a farmer who lived in Lenasia, suffered severe head and internal injuries. He also had lash wounds on his back and legs. Police are investigating a case of murder. “The way my husband died was barbaric,” Shaik’s widow, Sumaya Khan, told Sunday Times this week.
“He was the father of three young children. My husband, or anybody, does not deserve to die like this. I want justice, I want those who assaulted him to be jailed.”
Shaik’s children are two, five and seven years old.
Khan said Shaik had been admitted to the centre on Friday, September 28. On the Sunday they were contacted by the centre to say he had been admitted to hospital.
His sister, Fatima Sulaiman, said he had swelling and blood clots on the brain.
It was the third time he had checked into the facility.
“But no matter if he was a drug addict or not, he was our blood and we will fight to get justice for him,” Sulaiman said.
“Despite his problems he was a successful person who loved his family.”
On Friday, the Gauteng department of social development said it was shutting down the centre as it was operating illegally.
Social development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said no new patients could be admitted until the facility was registered in terms of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act.
“Current [patients] are to complete the programme and be discharged,” said Mayathula-Khoza.
The department said the centre’s registration had lapsed in January last year.
“The deceased was not admitted procedurally and there was no proper medical assessment before admission. He was not admitted at a detoxification unit to manage withdrawals. There was no professional staff on duty and there were no incident reports on file, and the centre does not even have an incident register,” said Mayathula-Khoza.
Family, friends and community members who knew Shaik have taken to social media, calling for his assailants to be jailed.
Within a week, the Facebook page #Justice4MuhammedShaik had received more than 2,000 comments and shares.
Though some defended the centre, others said they had also been assaulted when they were patients there.
In one of the Facebook posts, Waseem Badat says: “When I was admitted for six weeks … they keep 60 patients in one isolated room … if they fail to obey rules they get chained to a tree and beaten. Till today the horrible actions of the supervisors still haunt me.”
The Sunday Times tried to contact Badat, but he did not respond to calls or messages.
The centre claims to have a code of conduct and rules that ensure the safety of all patients. “We try to instil in the person that for every wrong action there is a reaction or effect. Some examples of these consequences will be lock-ups, no cigarettes, privileges revoked, visitation and phone calls denied, etc.”
Yusuf Allie, a former drug addict who later worked at the rehab centre, said staff had been instructed to hit and chain up patients.
“We would smack them and chain them. It looked normal but it was not,” he said.
The Sunday Times visited the centre this week, but a staff member declined to let the team in, referring all questions to the centre’s lawyer, Yousha Tayob.
Tayob said that the police were investigating.
Magaliesburg police spokeswoman Constable Rebecca Phiti said they were investigating a case of murder.