Dalphine Tagwireyi
Cynthia Sibanyoni gave birth to a still-born baby last December.
But she only got to bury her child last Wednesday.
She told us of how her pain has haunted her for the past nine months.
Sibanyoni said when she went to Witbank Hospital last December to fetch the remains for burial, she was shown the remains of a small foetus in a decomposing state.
She and her family did not believe it was their baby.
The foetus was too small whereas her still-born baby, Sphesihle Remembrance Mthombeni, was fully developed.
They demanded answers about what had happened.
Sibanyoni lodged a case of negligence against Health MEC Sasasekile Manzini and the Witbank Hospital.
The high court in Middelburg ordered the MEC to pay the costs of the missing baby and the DNA tests which were done on 26 August.
It was later discovered that three still-born baby bodies were mixed up and DNA tests had to be conducted to determine which baby belonged to her.
“DNA tests were performed on my baby who was pushed in a bucket and stored in a fridge in a decomposing state. I really wish I could forget what I saw when the DNA tests were conducted,” she said.
Sibanyoni said the family has finally found closure.
Mpumalanga Department of Health spokesperson Dumisani Masilele told Scrolla.Africa that they acknowledge that there was an error with the baby given to the family.
“The department conducted internal investigations regarding the matter, and after DNA tests were conducted, we confirmed that the correct baby was then given to the family,” he said.
