In a condolence note, read by the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, the authorities expressed their "deepest dismay" at the death of Sílvio Dala, clinical director of the Ndalatando maternal and child hospital, "seconded on a training mission. at the David Bernardino Pediatric Hospital, in Luanda, on the night of the 1st of September, when he was in police custody, in circumstances not yet fully clarified ".
Franco Mufinda said that since the first hour the Ministry of Health has been in solidarity to provide all logistical, psychological and moral support to the family.
"The Ministry of Health joins other institutions of the executive, especially the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of the Interior, which initiated a criminal proceeding in order to clarify the real circumstances in which it occurred (...), as well as as the respective responsibility of eventual offenders ", he said.
The minister stressed that the ministry "reiterates its firm commitment to the life and physical, psychological and moral integrity of doctors and all health professionals, especially in this particularly challenging time, when they are in fact the front line in combating covid-19 ", he stressed.
"The Ministry of Health calls on the medical community and all actors in the health system to be calm and serene and not to demotivate in the noble mission of saving lives, which we are bound by the Hippocratic oath," he said.
On the case, the Ministry of Interior, in a statement, confirmed the doctor's death, who was taken by police to a police station in Luanda, for allegedly circulating on the public road without a face mask, mandatory, due to the covid-19.
The document states that after going to the Catotes police station, in Rocha Pinto, the fine payment methods were explained to the doctor and he, having no ATM machine in the vicinity, called a close family member to pay the fine. .
The note added that the doctor "minutes later, showed signs of fatigue and began to faint, tending to fall, which caused slight injuries to the head region".
"Due to his serious condition, he was taken to be rescued at Hospital do Prenda but on the way he ended up perishing", underlines the document, stressing that the Criminal Investigation Service intervened, removing the body to the morgue of Hospital Josina Machel.
According to the authorities, the doctor's family confirmed that he was suffering from hypertension, however, due to legal imperatives, an autopsy will be performed on the corpse to determine the cause of death.
However, the National Union of Doctors contradicts the police version, saying that after the fall the doctor was allegedly kept in the cell and hours later he was found dead.
"Only then did they understand to take him to Hospital do Prenda, in the police vehicle, where only death was confirmed. His irreversible cardiorespiratory arrest", says the union.
A group of colleagues at the Pediatric Hospital David Bernardino, where the victim worked, after learning about it, went to that morgue and surprisingly the drawer was full of blood.
"The colleague has an incisive wound, like a cut in the occipital region, which we presume was subjected to aggressions and hard blows that resulted in that wound and abundant bleeding", highlights the union.
However, a source from the Interior Ministry said that the autopsy performed in the presence of the family and a prosecutor, concluded that the doctor was not the target of any aggression.
