Relatives demand compensation after young man dies outside Angolan hospital

The family of a young man who died at the Hospital Américo Boavida (HAB) in Luanda is demanding compensation for his orphans and widow, blaming the facility for “negligence” and the Angolan authorities for the alleged attack that killed him.

João Fernando Soma, 25, died on Tuesday at the door of the HAB, where he was allegedly denied medical attention, and was buried this Saturday in Cemetery No. 14 amid the unrest of his family, who demand justice and regret what happened. the way they were “kicked out” of the hospital ward.

“Paizinho,” as he was also known in the Boavista area of ​​the Sambizanga urban district of Luanda, left behind two orphans and a pregnant widow, prompting family members to ask for compensation, a place to live, a job and help for their children.

In the shaky house where the wake was held, located in an area built in the famous “baroque style of Boavista”, Madalena Domingas, the mother of the victim, mourned the misfortune of her son, attributing his death to the attacks he suffered from the Criminal Investigation Service (CIS) agent and attitude of the doctor who refused him help from the VCB.

Madalena Domingas, 55, weak and with a sickly voice, told Lusa that her son was attacked by an SIC agent and members of the Turma do Apito (a private youth militia that patrols the area) in the Mercado de Paulo, where he worked part-time transporting goods to wheelbarrow.

It is reported that Joao Fernando Soma collided with a car last week while transporting goods, which led to a disagreement with the driver, who demanded that he pay 3,000 kwanzas (three euros) for the arrangement, which the young man did not have.

According to Madalena Domingos, her son’s lack of money was the reason he was attacked, first by an SIC agent working in the Sao Paulo market, and then by members of the Turma do Apitu.

The attacks he suffered worsened his health over time, prompting his mother to carry her son on her back to HAB in Rangel town seeking help.

Madalena said that when they arrived at the hospital’s emergency department, the doctor on duty told them that they were not accepting casualties and that they should go to the Josine Machel Hospital.

“I said to at least provide first aid and then make a transfer, but you turned your back on me and entered the room,” Madalena complained, adding that she left the emergency bank to the gate using a stretcher.

“But at the stop (next to a residential building) they laid him on the ground, and (it was there) for all the time spent looking for a taxi, the child died on the sidewalk,” he explained.

According to her, after the death of her son, the HAB medical team arrived on the scene, but at that moment she did not allow anyone to approach the victim: “I told them not to touch my son.”

Six months pregnant and with two more children, widow Linda Matheus, 21, is unemployed and asking for help to support her children, demanding that those responsible for her husband’s death be brought to justice.

Compensation for the family with registration of orphans, housing and work for the widow was also demanded by the victim’s uncle, Domingos Castro, who complained about “poor service in public hospitals.”

On Wednesday, HAB management announced the suspension of the medical team following the incident and reported the incident due to the alleged negligence of the medical team on duty to the Service of Criminal Investigation (SIC), promising “due accountability” for a doctor who refuses to treat a patient.

Various political circles and civil society in Angola have rejected the alleged case of “medical negligence” as well as other cases reported by users of public hospitals, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Lusa has attempted to contact the SIC to seek clarification regarding the alleged aggression that the young man was a victim of, but has so far been unsuccessful.