Pretoria midwife summoned to court

A deregistered midwife from Pretoria East who was removed from the Nurses’ Register by the South African Nursing Council (SANC) in 2022 appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court today.

Nico Raubenheimer, the legal representative of Yolande Fouchee (previously Maritz), confirmed to Pretoria Rekord that his client is being criminally prosecuted.

Fouchee allegedly continued rendering her services after being removed from the Nurses’ Register by the SANC in 2022.

Raubenheimer did not wish to elaborate on the nature of the complaints against her.

According to AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, Fouchee has been sued to appear in court, among others, on charges of assault.

Spokesperson Barry Bateman says Fouchee is being prosecuted as she allegedly administered medication to various pregnant women, which allegedly led to complications at birth, and was practising as a midwife without a licence.

He says the case was postponed to August 22.

The private prosecution unit is representing Pretoria mother Carien Möller (mother of Sophia) and Alysia von Kloëg (mother of the late Noah) from Middelburg in Mpumalanga.

Möller and Von Kloëg filed criminal charges respectively in 2020 and 2022 after complications at their children’s births that were supervised by Fouchee as midwife.

These complications led to the death of Von Kloëg’s baby boy nine days after birth and left Möller’s four-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy.

AfriForum has continuously pressured the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to action a swift prosecution.

“The unit dedicated itself for a year and a half to support Carien and Alysia in their quest for justice and to ensure that Maritz is held accountable for her actions,” says Bateman.

Maritz was found guilty by the SANC in 2021 of negligent and unprofessional behaviour and was permanently deregistered as a midwife. She appealed the finding but was rejected.

The private prosecution unit engaged the NPA in 2023 after Möller and Von Kloëg expressed their concern over the slow progress of the case.

Bateman says the summons should have been served much sooner.

“We informed the prosecution authority that their failure to prosecute the midwife allowed her to continue with her activities and that she may cause further harm to pregnant women.”

Fouchee and her husband allegedly started advertising on social media again, despite her being deregistered, under the business name iBaby Mobile Ultrasound, to perform home births and pregnancy ultrasound scans.

The Fouchees advertised, among others, on Pretoria social media groups through her husband Paul sharing their statuses.

They were also caught providing sonar scanning services by TV investigation programme Carte Blanche.

It is difficult for Möller to talk about what happened.

Her daughter Sophia has been suffering from cerebral palsy since her birth on July 11, 2019. She turns five this week.

The SANC found that Fouchee did not request medical intervention during the birth, resulting in brain damage.

Sophia needs continuous care due to her disability.

“Now is the time [when] we want to focus on more important things. We focus on the positive and the blessings of the Lord,” Möller says.

She approached AfriForum in 2022 after they had already filed a criminal complaint at the SANC disciplinary hearing that year.

“We as a family are relieved that she is finally being prosecuted. We are one step closer to justice. I have much peace in my heart regarding our journey with Sophia and the criminal case,” Möller explains.

She says: “This had to happen so that it may not happen to thousands more. Sophia has given me my calling in life. It is not always easy or fair. But Jesus said: ‘This I have said to you, so that you may find peace in Me. In the world, you experience suffering but keep courage. I have already overcome the world’.”

Acting executive registrar and CEO of SANC, Jeanneth Nxumalo, says Fouchee has not been expelled but removed from the Nurses’ Register.

This means she may not practise as a nurse and any complaint or case reported after such removal, is a criminal complaint and will be handled in terms of the criminal law.

Nxumalo confirmed to Pretoria Rekord that no charge against Fouchee has been filed since she was removed and therefore they have not done any follow-up work.

“To practise as nurse or midwife without being registered with the association goes against the Nursing Act 33 of 2005 and if the association takes note thereof, a criminal case may be opened against such a person,” Nxumalo explains.

Articles about the expelled midwife published in 2016 on homebirth.org.za, before she was removed from the Nurses’ Register, reveal that the former resident of Bloemfontein is the mother of two girls. Her social media pages show that she married Paul Fouchee on June 19, 2021.

Click here to find out more about how the fight against Fouchee gained momentum.

Watch the Carte Blanche programme about Fouchee: