Staff Reporter
THE family of a man identified as Paul David Markus Tiboth (73), who jumped from the second floor of Katutura Hospital in an alleged state of delirium, is demanding answers from the Ministry of Health and Social Services as they allege that their loved one died due to negligence by hospital staff.
Tiboth is said to have died upon landing on the ground as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
Tiboth’s cousin, Anna Magdelena Fredericks (62), explained that the late Tiboth had been hospitalised at the Katutura State Hospital on 1 July 2026 and had been scheduled to undergo surgery that involved the amputation of both of his legs after he allegedly developed a sore on his foot that ate away at his flesh.
She added that while the late Tiboth was hospitalised, he started experiencing mental health issues, began hallucinating and acted violently towards other patients, at times throwing objects at patients and demanding to know why other people were in his home.
She added that after being admitted to the hospital for merely a week, Tiboth jumped from a window on the second floor of Katutura Hospital on 10 July 2026 at about 02:00 during the early morning hours in Ward TB.
Fredericks said that the hospital only informed her of Tiboth’s death some 10 hours later, at about 12:00 midday.
“I was the only one who checked up on him, but he said the doctors were not tending to him. It is the hospital’s negligence; they did not even give him counselling considering the circumstances he was in. He later started experiencing hallucinations due to the extreme pain he was experiencing. The nurses did not inform the doctors of the mental health issues and the nonsensical things he would say. Perhaps if the doctors had been informed, he would have been given sleeping pills, as he would walk around all night on those hospital floors,” Fredericks said.
She added that when Tiboth jumped, hospital staff only became aware of what had happened after the patient who had been lying next to Tiboth screamed in terror.
“Why did they only call me 10 hours later? I want to know where the hospital staff were when this happened. They said that his death was due to an accident, but I have an issue with this. It is a police case, but they sent the body to the State mortuary and not the police mortuary,” Fredericks questioned.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services, at the time of publication, had not yet responded to queries sent on the matter.
TRAGIC END: The late Paul Tiboth. Photo: Contributed
