Zanzibar Police quiz 'Fake Doctor'

By Fariji Msonsa
The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam. The lives of Zanzibar residents are at high risk as a man who owns a clinic but is not a trained doctor is treating patients at the facility.

 

The presumed doctor, who is said to be using a certificate of his deceased brother, pretends to have attended the same college as that attended by the brother with whom they share a mother .

 

The said doctor was formally identified as Yusufu originating from Mtwara Region and currently is known as Dr Haroun Ally Niva. Haroun Ally were names of his brother who died in 2000 while working at the Sokoine hospital in Mtwara, having pursued a medical course at the Mtwara Medical Training Centre (MTC).

 

However, when his father, Mr Hamis Salim, was contacted over the telephone by The Citizen on Sunday he confirmed that his son had changed his name, but did not know the reason for it.

Mr Salim also said he was unaware of the college his son his son had attended, but he knew that the son owned a clinic in Zanzibar.

“It’s true. I know that my son who now identifies himself as Haroun Ally Niva has a clinic in Zanzibar, but I do not know exactly which college he attended. Moreover, I do not know why he decided to change his name by dropping that of Yusufu,” said Mr Salim.

 

He went on: “I cannot tell you about the matter because, unfortunately, for most of his life he was not close to me as we lived apart. He stayed with his mother for some time, but at other times he stayed with a relative and I did not have anything to do with his activities.”

 

Efforts to meet Mr Yusufu were futile as his father said his son was remanded after quarelling with a police officer in Mtwara. However, he said he was denied bail because of failing to report to the police station as ordered the first time and his bail was cancelled.

 

“Dr Haroun clashed with a police officer sometime ago and was arrested. I managed to bail him out, and he was ordered to report to the police station accordingly.

 

“But his failure to do so also put me in danger and I got arrested too. When he showed up, he was detained for the second time and his bail was cancelled. So he is still being held,” explained Mr Salim.

 

For his part, the permanent secretary of the Zanzibar Ministry of Health, Mr Mohamed Didawi, said he was aware of the allegations which his office was investigating.

 

Meanwhile, hotel owners have been ordered not to use services of doctors with dubious certificates and who lacked registration certificates.

 

Said Mr Didawi: “The ministry is aware of the allegations and has received various complaints. Investigations on the person have started but currently we don’t know about his whereabouts as he is not in Unguja. However, we have written to the Zanzibar Medical Commission directing it to order hotel owners to adhere to regulations.”

 

He added: “There are clear regulations that guide doctors and prohibit institutions to access services from unregistered doctors or those with unclear certificates. But, we will deal with this case accordingly if the suspect is found guilty.”