Well-known writer mugged, beaten up; complains Discovery refuses to help him

Well-known Cape Town-based author, freelance writer and editor TO Molefe recently found himself the victim of crime, and posted photos of the aftermath of his injuries on Twitter on Wednesday.

He contacted Discovery Health’s CEO, Jonathan Broomberg, directly on Twitter to ask him to intervene in an apparent dispute with the medical scheme service, which was refusing to pay for the costs of his emergency room treatment, hospitalisation and recovery.

Molefe said he’d been assaulted by three muggers and was hit by a car as he tried to get away.

Broomberg quickly responded to him, only to later inform him that, according to their records, Molefe hadn’t been part of their scheme since April and so couldn’t be covered. The same message was repeated by Discovery’s official Twitter account.

While some on Twitter advised Molefe to accept his fate and bad luck, others said they remained suspicious of the scheme provider and were also not happy with Discovery.