EDITORIAL: When the healers become the killers

There was a time when medical professionals stood at the very peak of society’s moral and ethical pyramid. Nurses carried an aura of discipline and compassion that could be felt from a distance. Doctors inspired confidence before a single word was spoken, before a single wound was examined. Such was the weight of their calling. 

To wear a white coat was to carry not just knowledge, but trust. Authority. A quiet, unquestioned integrity. But that image is fraying.

In 2021, reports emerged that 84 doctors had siphoned millions from the government’s medical aid scheme, Psemas. In February 2026, the Anti-Corruption Commission of Namibia (ACC) arrested dentist Sydney Munkonge over claims allegedly submitted for services never rendered to Psemas beneficiaries.

And just this week, an entire group of medical professionals - including two doctors - appeared in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court, accused of defrauding a local insurer of N$2 million.

Then there is the deeply disturbing case involving Dr Fillemon Nakanduungile, charged in connection with the killing of prosecutor Justine Shiweda. Individually, these cases may differ. Together, they paint a troubling emerging trend.

What happened to a profession once regarded as a calling - almost sacred in its duty to preserve life? What happened to the men and women who stood as custodians of care, bound not only by science but by conscience?

Doctors were healers. Today, too many headlines suggest something else - professionals accused of looting the very systems meant to keep the sick alive. If not siphoning funds, they are fabricating claims. If not defrauding insurers, they are mistreating patients in facilities where compassion should be the first prescription.

Regulatory and professional institutions must wake up. Oversight cannot be passive. Ethics cannot be optional.

When healers lose their moral compass, the consequences could be fatal.