Police face N$3.5m claim

A man accused of slitting the throats of his two sons, aged four and six, about eight years ago is suing the minister of safety and security and the commissioner of correctional services for medical negligence after losing his eyesight while in custody. Jonas Penovanhu Shinana, the plaintiff in the matter, is awaiting trial in the murder case. He is accused of killing Matheus Shinana, 6, and Emilia Naatya Shinana, 4, on 23 and 24 December 2009, in Wanaheda, Katutura. Judgement in that matter is set to be handed down on 29 September. He has instituted a N$3.5 million claim against the two defendants for medical negligence or medical malpractice, or wrongful injury to his right to dignity in terms of the provisions of the Namibian Constitution. In the breakdown he claims N$2 million for the loss of his sight, N$1 million of loss of amenities, N$100 000 for post-traumatic stress and N$400 000 for wrongful stripping of his dignity. Shinana's claim is based on the fact that he was diagnosed with tuberculosis on 8 August 2014 and consequently commenced with a treatment programme for about eight months. During January 2015 he continued to experience symptoms of diminishing eyesight and eye pain of which he informed the medical staff at the clinic of the Windhoek Correctional Facility, but to which they did not promptly react. In his particulars of claim he said he was referred to the Windhoek Central Hospital for examination where a brain scan was conducted on 9 March 2015. Doctors observed abnormal swelling in the pupillary veins and attributed it to the TB medication he was using at that time. On 23 March 2015 another doctor at the Katutura hospital recommended a change of his TB medication and advised completion of the new treatment with follow-ups at the Windhoek Central Hospital or clinic. “I was told I lost 80% vision and subsequently declared blind,” Jonas maintained in his sworn statement. Shinana said a certain Dr T.T. Tuemuna informed the medical staff at the Windhoek Correctional Facility on the same date of the permanent damage to his optic nerves and his subsequent permanent blindness. “As a result of abysmal failure of the medical staff of the prison facility to perform their duty to immediately refer me to an eye specialist upon my first complaint, I suffered irreversible or irreparable harm to my eyesight,” Shinana argued. The defendants, the safety and security minister and the commissioner of correctional services, in their papers denied that the plaintiff was diagnosed with tuberculosis on 8 August 2014. They maintained that the plaintiff was treated for TB and only took his medication for four months instead of six months because of his arrest before completing his treatment. After defaulting he resumed treatment on 8 August 2014. The defendants denied that Shinana complained about diminished vision or pupillary pain in January 2015 but only registered the complaint on 12 February 2015, which was six months after the commencement of the TB treatment. They said he complained about itching eyes and poor vision which had lasted for about one week. It is argued that the plaintiff failed to prevent the accumulation of his loss of vision. The most likely cause of his visionary problem was determined by the ophthalmology department at the Windhoek Central Hospital to be the drug ethambutol, one of the drugs prescribed for his TB. His loss of eyesight was a gradual process and did not happen in one day or a week and in the result, the defendants pleaded that the plaintiff was unreasonable in taking too long in registering his deteriorating eyesight and painful eyes. He was promptly - as was practical under circumstances - referred to the ophthalmology department for treatment but before that he took too long to register his complaint thereby failed to prevent the accumulation of his loss. “Consequently there was no negligence on the side of the defendants,” they argued in the papers filed. The matter is still under case management and is currently in mediation. FRED GOEIEMAN

Police face N$3.5m claim

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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Police face N$3.5m claim

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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