In the case Kievits Kroon Country Estate (Pty) Ltd v Johanna Mmoledi & Others 2014 (1) SA 585 (SCA) the credibility of a note from a traditional healer was weighed against a note from a medical practitioner.

In this case Mrs. Mmeledi was dismissed for absconding from work without permission due to “premonitions from ancestors”. What this means was that she believed she saw visions from her ancestor telling her to pursue a course in traditional healing. She believed her health and life may be in danger if she didn’t obey these instructions. The traditional healer wrote a note explaining that Mrs. Mmeledi was in her care and acknowledged that the patient was diagnosed with “premonitions from her ancestors”.

Her boss said that if he had known Mrs. Mmeledi was ill and had received a note from a medical practitioner she would never have been let go.

After looking at all the facts (all not mentioned above) the court decided that Mrs. Mmeledi’s dismissal was unfair, and she got her rehired. The court accepted Mrs. Mmeledi’s note as a “sick-note” and according to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 she is allowed to stay away from work with a sick note.

This concluded that a note from a traditional healer, acknowledging illness, is just a valid as note from a registered medical practitioner.

“Also beyond dispute is that as part of these belief systems people resort to traditional healers for their physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. The World Health Organisation (WHO) observes that up to 80 per cent of South Africans meet these needs through the use of traditional medicine”

Read the entire case below http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2013/189.html



Written By: Nadene van der Mescht