Ester Gogo Motaung (45) and Ditaba Daniel Kati (27) face a total of 4292 charges of contravention of Act 56, Section 12 (2A) of the Health Professions Act of 1974. “The pair made a brief appearance in court on Friday following their arrest by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation,” said Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso. He said the pair were arrested in Wolmaransstad at their consultation rooms. “They have been practicing as doctors while they were not qualified nor registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. They have allegedly been operating for over three years with branches in Ventersdorp and Bloemhof whilst charging a consultation fee of R350.”

Rikhotso said both the accused were released on R2000 bail. “The matter was postponed to 30 August 2021 for further investigation.” The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has ramped up efforts in trying to ‘sweep the streets’ and remove bogus doctors. The HPCSA is a statutory body established under the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974. While its work is centered around ensuring quality and equitable healthcare for all, it is also mandated to “regulate the health professions in the country in aspects pertaining to education, training and registration, professional conduct and ethical behavior, ensuring Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and fostering compliance with healthcare standards.”

HPCSA’s Dr. Raymond Billa admitted that policing the increase of bogus doctors was a tough job. “If they are registered with us, then we have jurisdiction over them, and once they are not registered with us, we have no jurisdiction, and there is no way we can protect the public because we need to know who is practising and whether they are fully registered with the HPCSA, and they gave the correct qualifications,” he said. He warned that legitimate doctors often have a registration certificate with their name, qualification, and notice of HPCSA membership hung up in their offices.