Mohamed Manjoo, the hospital clerk who admitted the late Chief Albert Luthuli at Stanger hospital, has disputed claims that Peter Papaya drove the ambulance that fetched Luthuli.
Manjoo told the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday that it was Zwane (no first name given) who was sent by Papaya to attend to the accident that was reported.
The clerk, who was 24-years old at the time, explained his job function. He said his duties were to admit patients and fill in application forms before patients could see the doctor.
Described his duties as a young clerk
“As clerks, we had to speak in isiZulu or isiXhosa and take full details of the residents. Also full details of the chiefs, the indunas, the nearest river etc. And then open the file after they had paid a fee, which was about 80c at the time,” he said.
Additionally, when there was an accident or severe assault, emergency maternity, the patients were taken straight to the ward. If they came in unconscious, they were seen immediately by the doctor on duty.
“We would then get the full details from the patient later or a relative in their company. And we also handled the main switchboard, for phone calls coming in and out of the hospital. We had to record in a book but it was never checked,” he explained.
According to Manjoo, on July 21, 1967, around 12.30pm to 1pm, his colleague was on lunch. That was when he received a call that requested an ambulance for a person who was knocked down by a train.
“I transferred the call to Mr Papaya, who later dispatched an ambulance driven by Mr Zwane.
Recognised the Nobel Peace Prize winner
“When Zwane came in with the patient, he had to pass by my counter. He stopped in front of me for me to open a file and get the details if there was a person who was with the patient. But there was no relative with him. What I noted was that the patient was not conscious, and then I recognised that it was chief Albert Luthuli,” said Manjoo.
The older former clerk said he noticed chief Luthuli because he had just received the Nobel Peace Prize. And the prize was celebrated by people of the world, he said, sobbing.
“As time went on, I had relocated to Johannesburg. I later learnt that there was a book that was to be written, In the shadow of Luthuli.
“I offered to edit the book based on my knowledge. In that book, it was mentioned that the transport superintendent for ambulance, Peter Papaya was the driver of the ambulance that fetched chief Luthuli. That is incorrect. On the day of the incident, Papaya did not drive an ambulance, but Mr Zwane. That information was never corrected.”
He said Luthuli did not have bruises, bleeding either from his face or head. There was no blood on the trolley or on his clothes that he would have noticed. And this was because his body was not covered.
Patient declared dead
“I immediately informed the black nurses and others who the patient was. And I called the ANC comrades, then the editor of the Sunday Tribune. He was taken straight to the examination room, after some time he was declared dead.”
This inquest was re-opened after Luthuli’s family expressed its dissatisfaction with the initial inquest results.
Chief Luthuli’s grandson said they took the matter back to court to correct history.
The inquest continues.
