More than two years after actress Zoleka Helesi’s death, her family hope to find closure at a malpractice hearing by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA).

Baxter Theatre head Lara Foot, Helesi’s close friend, executor of her will and plaintiff in her case, said counsel at the Women’s Legal Centre told her a fourth attempt to be heard by the council is being scheduled on events leading up to her death.

The Sunday Times reports that gynaecologist Ganes Ramdhin diagnosed Helesi with cervical cancer and performed an abdominal hysterectomy in 2021.

Sepsis set in and she died. 

According to the complaint before the HPCSA, doctors supporting the allegation of malpractice say she should never have been operated on. 

Ramdhin has weathered several controversies. He was placed on the register of the General Medical Council in the UK but was later found to have misled the panel about proven cases of fraud in SA.

He had been found guilty of 10 cases of medical aid fraud in Port Shepstone. 

Ramdhin returned to SA after being struck from the UK medical register. Since Helesi’s death, three scheduled HPCSA hearings over her matter have been delayed.

Full Sunday Times report