Guilty verdict reopens family’s painful chapter

The family of the late Phenny Ethingo, who died at Walvis Bay State Hospital in September 2017, says the guilty verdict against the doctor in her case has reopened a painful chapter they have carried since 2017.

Ethingo’s elder sister, Fiina Haikali, says the family has received formal confirmation that the medical and dental council’s professional conduct committee found the doctor, Dr Amir Shaker, guilty on two charges and imposed a penalty of N$30 000 per charge.

The ruling, dated 8 December, states that the sanction will only take effect after ratification by the Health Professions Council of Namibia (HPCN) in the first quarter of 2026.

Haikali says the outcome has brought some relief, but the family is still struggling to accept how Ethingo died.

“As a family, we are willing to talk about what happened to our late sister, daughter, mother, wife and aunt. It is a painful chapter to revisit, and it has reopened wounds that were slowly healing,” she says.

Ethingo was eight months pregnant when she was admitted on 29 September 2017 after complaining of abdominal pain. Later that day, she was told that her unborn baby had died.

The next day, Ethingo’s condition worsened as she complained of blurry vision, nausea and dizziness.

By the evening, her breathing had become difficult and she slipped into a coma. She later died in hospital. Her death certificate recorded hyperosmolar diabetic complications, septicaemia and kidney failure.

In the weeks that followed, Haikali raised concerns about the care her sister received at the hospital. She felt that there was no clear plan on how to manage the pregnancy after the baby was declared dead, and no urgent action to stabilise her sister as her condition deteriorated.

“We think about her every day, especially her children who were still very young when she died. She did not deserve to die the way she did. Her death was avoidable, and we strongly believe that better action and a more effective approach from the doctor could have saved her,” Haikali says.

She says the long wait for an outcome has been hard on the family.

“Even after eight years, the pain still feels very fresh. All we want is for justice to prevail. Her death should not be forgotten, and it must not be in vain,” she said.

Haikali says the family attended hearings and kept following up on the case over the years.

“Hearing that the doctor has finally been found guilty has brought us a sense of relief, because it shows that the justice system has not failed us, and that God does not sleep. It took many years, but we are hopeful as we look forward to what comes next,” she says.

Ethingo’s children were four and 13 years old at the time of her death.

“We think of what they lost. They grew up without their mother, and that is something we can never change,” Haikali says.

She says the family now wants the next steps to reflect the seriousness of what happened.

“All we want now is for justice to take its full course and for the right thing to be done for the sake of the children and for our entire family,” she says.

Asked for comment, ministry of health and social services spokesperson Walters Kamaya says the ministry was not aware of the outcome of the disciplinary process.

“The legal advisor’s office might be informed of the outcome. Usually we don’t get feedback if the case was referred to the the HPCNA or the attorney general,” Kamaya says.

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