Nurse guilty of assaulting frail care patient (84)
A nurse who kicked, slapped and elbowed an elderly woman (84) at the luxury Lily Kirchmann home for the frail in East London has been found guilty on five counts of assault. A News24 report notes that Hope Shepherd's daughter Bernice Robertson had hidden a camera in her mother's room because she suspected that she was being abused.
In the recordings, Ncediswa Mkenkcele can be seen using her fists and elbows on the woman and slapping her. At one stage, Mkenkcele also kicks the elderly woman in the stomach. The assaults, on 3 and 23 February 2015, were captured on a secret camera in a television set at the home.
The video material also shows Mkenkcele beating Shepherd against the head with a deodorant spray can and spraying the deodorant into her face and into her windpipe. Magistrate Ignatius Kitching, of the East London Magistrate's Court, found Mkenkcele guilty after studying the videos.
Robertson believes her mother died as a result of the abuse. Mkenkcele will be sentenced on 30 March. She is out on bail.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
