Doctor’s brutal death a tragedy
THE brutal and senseless murder of Prince Mshiyeni Hospital’s district surgeon Dr Vajnah Banoo Mohamed (Sunday Tribune Herald, November 27), at her gated complex on Browns Drift Road in Riverside, has perturbed and saddened Durban residents.
Hospital management hosted a memorial for her, where the KZN Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, comforted her grieving brother and relatives.
Dealing with the fact that the perpetrators were still on the loose was one thing, but what was more disturbing was that this murder was during the 16 Days of No Violence against Women and Children.
In a medical brief report, Jackie Branfield, who had known Mohamed since the 1990s and is the founder of the Bobbi Bear Foundation that helps sexually abused children, said the doctor told her three months ago about the death threats and said “they are going to kill me”.
Despite her retirement in May this year, she still had cases in which she was due to testify and report her findings. Now she has been silenced forever.
Evidently there was no sign of any forced entry to the complex, despite the top security. She was discovered in a decomposed state by a neighbour. Nobody deserves to die like this. Mohamed’s life was spent working with victims of rape, domestic and sexual abuse and, at the time of her death, she had been active at the Thuthuzela Care Centre, a home for sexually abused victims.
According to Sister Nompumelelo Dyide, the team leader at the centre, “Dr VB Mohamed was more than just a doctor, always going the extra mile.
“Some clients would come to the centre with no money to get back home and Dr Mohamed always gave them her own cash. She would even leave behind petty cash to be used on days she was off duty,” she said.
It was not only cash she would provide but also dresses, especially for the young victims – dresses still with the name of the shop and the price tag as a means to boost and restore the morale and dignity of the survivors.
She was an asset to the community – a medical doctor in government service who even dedicated her retirement to selflessly standing with those who were subjected to atrocious cases of abuse.
Clearly she was a low-profile doctor dedicated to the service of her patients and humanity. SHAMEEMA OMAR
Riverside