Milos Martinovic with his eight-month-old baby and fiancée Brooke Rombough. Martinovic died after allegedly ingesting the illegal drug, ibogaine. Pictures: Supplied.
A gasp, a shudder and he is gone. A “nurse” climbs on his bed trying CPR. A man storms in and the body lands on the floor as they frantically try to revive him. And the “doctor” walks in, nonchalantly flicks through his file and does… nothing.
This is the shocking video the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban had to watch on the death of Milos Martinovic in the murder trial of dentist Anwar Jeewa, also accused of posing as a doctor advocating “cold turkey” for drug addicts on platforms around the world with his “wonder cure”, ibogaine, derived from the root of an African plant known to induce psychedelic effects in users.
But what Martinovic didn’t know was that his “doctor” was only a dentist, who is now also charged with peddling an unscheduled drug and his “centre” was shut down by the department of health a year before Martinovic set foot in it.
Forking out R32 000, Martinovic, an Austrian father of an eight-month-old baby who became addicted to an anti-depressant after his mom’s death, came to Jeewa’s Durban “drug rehab centre” Minds Alive Wellness Centre for the “miracle cure” for drug addicts the “doctor” punted.
If not for the 26-year-old father’s family – father Miki, brother Dorde and fiancée Brooke Rombough – who impelled investigative TV programme Carte Blanche to expose the “dentist-doctor” in 2019, Jeewa would not be in the dock now admitting to them: “I take responsibility. Full responsibility” and “I do not want to ever treat another patient again”, court documents show of secret recordings.
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In one of the recordings, an emotional Rombough confronted Jeewa, telling him: “You should have been more educated. You killed him and you know it. I just want to hear you say it so I can sleep at night.”
In another, the dentist refers to his mentor as US doctor Jeffrey Kamlet – the same Kamlet who was arrested in Miami on charges of human trafficking and rape in March this year.
And it was all about money – an accusation Jeewa’s advocate did not deny after records produced following raids lead by Lieutenant-Colonel Anton Booysen from the Hawks.
Illicit drugs such as heroin, tik, cocaine and ibogaine were confiscated. Police also found 110 signed and stamped doctor’s prescriptions belonging to a Dr Danka.
Danka told the court he was a former customer at Minds Alive. He left his book of signed prescriptions with Jeewa for him to “complete the medication part”.
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When asked why he left it, Danka said: “I know it was wrong. I am sorry.”
The money trail includes Jeewa’s double storey “rehab” admitting five to six patients weekly for about R12 000 each and selling his ibogaine concoction at R800 for 500ml.
The court heard of 53 waybills to the UK, US and Germany, among others, marked as documents, but containing his death drug.
Evidence also showed he profited by R27 000 a month for supplying a rehabilitation centre in Magaliesburg that had at least one recorded death after an ibogaine treatment in 2017.
Jeewa is set to testify this week.
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