Doctor Chwayita Ongama Yongama
Yako? (46) was convicted by the Mthatha Regional Court on August 3, 2021 for charges
of theft and fraud.
Yako, a duly qualified doctor
practising in the district of Mthatha, entered into an agreement on July 31,
2011 with Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) representing Cross-Med
Health Group and MPA Management Services.
The contract was referred to as
Exclusive Agency Agreement.
In February 2012, the IDC
approved a loan of R75.68 million to Cross-Med Health Care Centre Pty Ltd for
the establishment of a 52-bed private hospital facility in the Mthatha area
which is now operating as Mthatha Private Hospital.
According to IDC loan agreement,
Yako had to contribute R4 million into the project through his company called
Osteen Health Group Pty Ltd, half of which had to be allocated towards the
construction of the hospital structure.
Yako opened a Cross-Med bank
account on behalf of the Cross-Med Health Group with First National Bank of
which he was the sole signatory in the bank account responsible for all
payments made from this account.
The company called Copperzone was
supposed to have been introduced to IDC as a business partner with Yako’s
company, but it never was. The aforementioned company deposited more than R4.5
million into the Cross-Med bank account as a business partner for business
related matters.
He used R2.32 million from the
Cross-Med Health Care Group bank account for his aggrandisement. He further
opened his private company bank account with a name similar to that of the
Cross-Med Health Group business account by the name of Cross-Med Mthatha
Private Hospital Pty Ltd wherein he redirected funds from the medical aid
schemes.
The complaint was lodged with
the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team at Mthatha in September
2013 for probing, which culminated in Yako’s arrest on 28 November 2018. He
made his short appearance in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on the very same
day and was released on R10? 000 bail.
After a series of court
appearances, he was convicted and will be sentenced on 29 September 2021.?
