Mthatha’s controversial Dr Chwayita Yako has been arrested for fraud to the tune of R2.3m.
Yako was arrested on Wednesday and made a brief appearance in the Mthatha magistrate’s court, where he was released on R15,000 bail.
He was arrested by the Hawks serious commercial crime investigation unit for fraud relating to a R75m loan he allegedly took to build Mthatha Private Hospital on Nelson Mandela Drive.
During February 2011 the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) approved a loan facility of about R75m to Cross-Med Health Centre for the establishment of the private hospital in Mthatha.
The project promoter was Yako.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Anelisa Feni said the shareholders of the project were the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, the IDC, Copper Zone and Yako’s Osteen Health Group.
“Above the R75m, each shareholder was to make a monetary contribution towards the construction of the private hospital.
“Some of the monetary contributions were allegedly deposited into the account where Yako was allegedly the sole signatory.
“It is alleged that the medical doctor made withdrawals amounting to R2.3m for his personal use without being authorised by the other shareholders,” Feni said.
In April, the Dispatch reported that Yako had been interdicted by the high court from entering the new hospital.
This was after allegations that he diverted millions of rands from the project into his private company.
Yako has failed to service the loan from the IDC and the hospital has been placed in business rescue.
The details emerged in a lawsuit brought by the business rescue practitioners in the Grahamstown high court.
They wanted to stop Yako from running a private practice on the hospital premises, billing medical aids and removing business records.
The business rescue practitioners have also sought to have Yako removed as a director of Cross-Med Health, which manages the hospital.
The 52-bed facility, one of two private hospitals in Mthatha, is only a stone’s throw from the CBD.
At the time, the court heard the hospital struggled to attract enough patients because it had bought poor equipment and had been unable to treat patients adequately, and that support from other doctors was not forthcoming.
The hospital’s electricity bill was in arrears and the IDC wanted to liquidate the venture.
But Yako applied for the business rescue, and it was granted last September by the Mthatha high court.
There were even rumours of the hospital shutting down but in May a lifeline was thrown when it went under new management.
Yako will be back in court on January 14...