Publications
Partners
Mbuso Mandela’s treatment for reported post- traumatic stress disorder at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria was approved long before he was accused of rape.
Joy Peter, spokesperson for Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, confirmed to City Press that the minister had approved the 24-year-old’s treatment in a joint decision with the military health services surgeon general, Lieutenant General Aubrey Sedibe.
Outrage continues to build about how Mbuso Mandela – who was granted bail of R7 000 this week after allegedly raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl in a northern Joburg bar and restaurant – could be treated at the top military hospital when he is not a VIP.
Peter said Mapisa-Nqakula gave the go-ahead to admit Mandela to 1 Military Hospital “long before” the recent rape case, saying exceptions for the admittance of private patients could be made if the minister granted it in special circumstances.
“In cases like this the patients will also pay for treatment,” she said.
In his affidavit before court, Mbuso Mandela said he was unemployed, had two children and another baby on the way. He also said he wanted the court to treat him the same as any other rape accused and not as “a Mandela”.
A former senior officer and doctor from 1 Military Hospital told City Press it was a travesty to allow Mbuso Mandela treatment in the hospital when not even serving soldiers’ children over the age of 18 are allowed to receive free medical care there.
As a grandson of the former president, Mbuso Mandela does not qualify for any VIP treatment.
The hospital’s VIP wing is reserved for visiting heads of state and government ministers who fall ill and need to be treated there.
The VIP wing is mostly used in emergency cases for visiting heads of state where strict access control can be maintained for security purposes – or to keep them away from the prying eyes of the public.
The former senior officer said when a VIP patient is admitted to the wing, armed guards control the entrance to the area and certain medical staff members are allowed in.
In the past, the hospital and the SA Military Health Service have strictly adhered to the principle that no private patients are allowed treatment at the hospital – not even if they are willing to pay
