Bereaved family to appeal against acquittal of Baho medics

Paul Jabo, the widower of Chantal Ngwinondebe, a female patient who died at Baho International Hospital (BIH) in September 2021 during a surgical operation, has vowed to appeal against a court decision to acquit the medics who carried out the procedure. Since last year, Dr. Gaspard Ntahonkiriye, a gynecologist and Dr. Alfred Mugemanshuro, an anesthesiologist – the duo that carried out the procedure - has been in courts of law on charges of negligence and less cautiousness that allegedly led to Ngwinondebe’s death. The 54-year-old passed-on as the two medics attempted to remove an intrauterine device (IUD) from her body. During an earlier hearing at Kicukiro Primary Court, the prosecutors told the judge that when the patient checked into the hospital, Dr. Ntahonkiriye tried to remove the IUD but it was so painful that he decided to use hysteroscopy, a surgical intervention that is done by the use of endoscopy. She was advised to return to the hospital two days later for the procedure. On coming back, Dr. Mugemanshuro anesthetized her and Dr. Ntahonkiriye carried out the surgery, but unfortunately, she did not make it out of the operation. Citing a provisional autopsy report, the prosecutors said Ngwinondebe died of laryngospasm, a spasm of the vocal cords that temporarily makes it difficult to breathe. Here, they said her death would have been avoided if the medics had done what they were required to do. Among other things, they claimed that the surgery went wrong because the theatre lacked crucial supplies including oxygen and adrenaline, a medicine used to treat cardiac arrest. However, the two medics defended themselves, saying they professionally did all they had to do. They insisted that both oxygen and adrenaline were available during the operation. In a counter argument, the prosecutors maintained that adrenaline was not available, citing a testimony of a witness who said that a one Dr. Thomas (an employee at the hospital at that time) rushed to Gisimenti to buy the drug after the patient had died. Adrenaline is always used within two to three minutes when a patient is experiencing cardiac arrest. So, the prosecutors argued that Dr. Thomas’ efforts to buy it after the patient had already passed on can be interpreted as an attempt to cover up for the hospital’s mistake of lacking such a crucial drug during an operation. Contrary to the prosecutors’ claims, Dr. Jean Bonaventure Uwineza, one of the medics that carried out a probe into Baho Hospital’s operations in the aftermath of Ngwinondebe’s death, told the court that when his team arrived at the hospital to do the investigation, they found enough adrenaline that could be used for the whole year. He added that oxygen was available too. When the judge asked him to explain to the court what informed the decision to close the hospital last year. He responded that it was not his team that closed the hospital, but rather the Medical and Dental Council. On December 9, the court issued the verdict acquitting the two medics, a decision that was mainly based on the explanations presented to the judges by Dr. Uwineza and another expert medic tasked to enlighten the judges on the Ministry of Health’s report and how surgical operations are carried out. Speaking to The New Times, Paul Jabo, the widower of the deceased Ngwinondebe, said he will appeal. “I don’t think there was fairness. I have already contacted the prosecutors and asked them to file an appeal,” he noted.

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Bereaved family to appeal against acquittal of Baho medics