The healthcare community in Zululand, South Africa is reeling following the sudden and unexplained death of a Nigerian medical doctor, Dr. Francis Sunday Idika.
Idika, the Deputy Director and Medical Manager at Vryheid Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal, was found d3ad at his workplace on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Dr. Idika, who served the Vryheid community for over 18 years, was found unresponsive in a hospital restroom by a colleague who initially believed him to be in deep sleep around 4:00 AM before discovering he had passed away around 9:00 AM.
Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA) in a statement on Friday, April 25, described Dr. Idika as a man who devoted himself entirely to the Vryheid community.
His death has sparked outrage and calls for a full investigation amid allegations of systematic workplace harassment and bullying. His wife, Nneka Idika, has vehemently rejected initial reports that appeared in local media suggesting her husband had taken his own life.
‘The reports I’m hearing and seeing from the news about him committing suicide are shocking, and it is unacceptable to us as a family. My husband, being an Igbo man, will never think of that. Never!,’ Mrs Idika stated in a statement to Lagos to Jozi Blog on Friday, April 25.
According to both Mrs. Idika and a press release from the Public Servants Association (PSA), Dr. Idika had been subjected to a pattern of targeted harassment at the hospital, particularly after the appointment of an acting CEO.
The PSA revealed that Dr. Idika had faced ‘a well-documented history of bullying, intimidation, and relentless persecution’ at Vryheid Hospital.
The statement details how he was ‘thrown out of government Mimosa Flats by the Acting CEO, alleging that he had overstayed the time that he is allowed to stay in the residence, while his position allows him to stay at the government residence without a timeframe.’
Mrs. Idika corroborated this account, stating that her husband’s belongings were thrown out of his government-provided residence during a period when he was suspended.
‘They really fought him. They victimised him. They punished him without cause,’ she said.
The PSA disclosed that Dr. Idika had been demoted twice and subjected to annual disciplinary charges since 2019.
The organization had been assisting him in challenging what they termed as ‘frivolous charges’ throughout this period.
‘Dr. Idika was confronted with 7 charges. He won most of them,’ Mrs. Idika confirmed, adding that before his death, ‘he was told he would not be successful’ with the latest charge against him.
