Hospital patient’s family want answers after he was shot and had ‘genitals bitten off’

The family of a mental patient is looking for answers after he died in a violent attack in Philadelphia Hospital in Dennilton, Limpopo, at the weekend.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday at about 2am in the psychiatric ward. “Our officers, who were on patrol at the time, swiftly responded to a report of an assault at the hospital.

“Upon arrival, they discovered a gruesome crime scene inside a locked room. A male suspect was found on top of a lifeless male body, covered in blood. He had allegedly bitten off the deceased’s genitals,” he said.

Mashaba said the deceased, 33, had a gunshot wound to the head, along with multiple injuries and missing teeth.

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It is not clear whether the dead man, Klaas Ledwaba, was mistakenly shot by security officers along with the suspect. There appears to have been a chaotic burst of gunfire in what should have been a locked ward, because in addition to the suspect being shot in both legs, a guard was hit in the leg by a bullet.

“Several spent cartridges were recovered at the scene and the suspect has been formally arrested for murder,” Mashaba said.

He did not say whether the suspect had fired any of the shots.

The family spokesperson of the deceased, Seun Mogotji, said: “We are on our way to the mortuary for the post-mortem because we have been waiting for the department to provide us with answers.

“First, we want to know how our son was killed.

“Secondly, the police statement claims there were four patients in the ward, two of which it says escaped the scene.

“How did they escape the scene when the ward was locked?

“We also want to know who shot our brother in the head and what role are [the department/ hospital] going to play when we lay him to rest.”

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Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo visited the hospital soon after the incident. Boshielo said police were investigating a case of murder and two attempted murders. Motsoaledi has called on hospital management to fire the security company.

On Monday, Limpopo department of health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said the incident was under discussion.