Trial of former midwife accused of baby deaths and disabilities to be heard in 2025
THE case against former midwife Yolande Maritz has been moved to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The trial is expected to start on May 12, 2025.
Maritz, a disgraced and deregistered nurse, allegedly administered medication to pregnant women that is suspected to have caused deaths and birth complications.
She was deregistered in 2021 as a midwife after the South African Nursing Council found her guilty of negligent and unprofessional behaviour.
Her appeal against the finding was dismissed.
Two mothers who are allegedly victims of Maritz’s conduct, Carien Möller and Alysia von Kloëg, approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit (PPU) in a quest for justice.
Möller and Von Kloëg filed criminal complaints in 2020 and 2022 respectively, claiming that birthing complications under Maritz’s care led to the death of Von Kloëg’s boy nine days after his birth, and left Möller’s daughter with cerebral palsy.
Möller and the Von Kloëg couple earlier respectively laid charges of culpable homicide and attempted murder with the SA Police Service (SAPS) against Maritz after alleged negligence during the births.
It is alleged that five babies had died and several had been left severely disabled at the hands of Maritz over a four-year period.
Maritz allegedly exceeded the recommended dose of certain medication by giving Möller two tablets at once, after which she began experiencing severe contractions, and her baby went into shock during the birth.
Police investigation into the unnatural death of the Von Kloëg couple’s son followed allegations that Maritz did not heed the parents’ concerns about abnormalities during the sonar scan done at 24 weeks.
Von Kloëg claimed that Maritz gave her tablets that appeared to be sedatives, and several minutes later she started having contractions. Their son was born about an hour later.
Von Kloëg said she knew something was wrong because her little boy was breathing abnormally and didn’t make a sound.
The story of Maritz’s alleged conduct was first exposed in 2020 by Carte Blanche.