A shocked court has heard that a doctor accused of raping his patient is being investigated on three similar charges in Mitchells Plain.
Dr Oluwabusuyi Babalola, 46, appeared at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court yesterday for allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman at the Nyanga Community Health Centre on Monday.
The Daily Voice can also reveal that Babalola, a father of two, was practising illegally.
According to the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA), Babalola’s licence expired six months ago already.
The Nigerian national was nabbed at the clinic after the patient went to complain to the manager, who called the cops.
The woman says she went to the clinic with back pain, but Babalola insisted to examine her vagina.
Yesterday, State Prosecutor Phumeza Mtuyedwa Zondi told the court: “He went to rub her vagina and then inserted his penis into her vagina.
“The state will ask he be kept in custody, it is reported that there are other three cases against the accused in the Mitchells Plain area.
“With regards to his bail information, the only indicator is that he is a Nigerian national, no other information is available.”
But Babalola’s lawyer, Likhaya Makana, said his client could not be denied bail while the State investigates the old cases.
He argued his client had informed him nothing had come out of those cases.
“It is prejudicial to the accused to be held for this reason,” he said.
“My client has been in custody since Monday and he provided information to investigators.
“There is no reason why these cases cannot be investigated while he is out on bail.
“He is a bread winner and has two children, a five-year-old and a one-year-old.”
Magistrate Gollam Bower postponed the matter to October 11 for a bail application.
Babalola sat quietly in the dock only turning to look at the public gallery where his sobbing wife and other relatives sat.
Spokesperson for the HPCSA, Priscilla Sekhonyana, said the accused does appear in their database.
“The practitioner’s registration expired on 31 March 2016,” she said.
She said the licence was only valid for five years, after which it became illegal for him to practise medicine in South Africa.
On Tuesday the Department of Health said Babalola was hired as a locum doctor through an agency.
The Department had cut ties with the agency pending an investigation.