Nthabeleng Precious Ramashala, the woman who was arrested for posing as a medical doctor at the Thembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, will spend another week in jail.
This comes after law enforcement officials were unable to transport her from Johannesburg Prison, also referred to as Sun City, where she is being held, to court on Monday.
This information was revealed at the Thembisa magistrate’s court, where Ramashala, 37, was scheduled to appear.
Ramashala is facing charges of contravention of the Health Act (impersonating a medical doctor) and being in possession of presumed stolen property.
The presumed stolen property is the stethoscope that was dangling around her neck when she was apprehended at the hospital on June 18.
Residential address verified
During the court proceedings on Monday, state prosecutor Maxwell Randima told magistrate Mamokete Sihlangu that Ramashala, like all other accused persons being kept at the Johannesburg Prison, could not be brought to court.
Randima did not go into detail about the transportation-related problems.
Randima said Ramashala’s residential address has been verified by police, paving the way for her formal bail application to commence.
Sihlangu postponed the matter in Ramashala’s absence to August 12 for Ramashala’s bail application.
After gaining entry to the hospital’s ward, Ramashala reportedly introduced herself as a surgeon to the patient she was treating and to the patient’s colleagues by administering medication, according to a police source with direct knowledge of the case.
The Gauteng department of health said Ramashala was apprehended while doing rounds with a stethoscope dangling around her neck.
Admitted as a patient
The nurses who spotted her and saw nothing doctoral about her demeanour raised the alarm.
“The police were called to the scene, and a preliminary investigation revealed that she was a bogus doctor,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, the spokesperson for police in Gauteng.
“The suspect was arrested and charged with impersonating a medical practitioner.”
Motalatale Modiba, the spokesperson for Gauteng health department, said a preliminary report from the department revealed that Ramashala was admitted as a patient from May 23 to 28 at the ward where she was arrested.
