NPA Welcomes Conviction of Former Pretoria Midwife Yolande Maritz Fouchee

• Former midwife Yolande Maritz Fouchee was convicted of culpable homicide linked to a newborn baby's death
• The NPA welcomed the judgment after Fouchee's negligent practices endangered multiple lives during childbirth
• Sentencing has been postponed to May 2026 following a trial with testimonies from medical experts and victims

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

GAUTENG, PRETORIA - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed the conviction of former midwife Yolande Maritz Fouchee, who was found guilty in the Pretoria High Court on multiple charges, including culpable homicide linked to the death of a nine-day-old baby.

Pretoria midwife convicted

IOL reported that the 48-year-old, who operated You and Me Midwife-led Maternity Care in Murrayfield, was also convicted on six counts of assault, fraud, employing an unqualified person and five additional counts of assault involving a legal duty. According to the prosecution, Fouchee provided midwifery services between 2019 and 2020, including pregnancy check-ups and assisting births at her practice. Evidence presented in court showed that she failed to identify and refer pregnancy complications to appropriate medical specialists during this period.

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The court heard that she had represented herself as capable of handling normal to low-risk births. During labour, she was found to have administered substances including Cytotec and Oxytocin to pregnant women without their knowledge to induce or accelerate childbirth. One of the cases presented related to an incident on 3 April 2019, when a patient's labour was induced under her care. The baby was born but died nine days later due to complications that had not been properly addressed.

Evidence from multiple witnesses

The matter came to light after a complaint was lodged with the South African Nursing Council in 2020, which led to criminal cases being opened at Silverton police station. Following a police investigation, Fouchee was arrested at her home on 24 June 2024. She pleaded not guilty to all charges during the trial and denied any wrongdoing.

The State, led by Advocate Jennifer Cronje, presented evidence from multiple witnesses, including victims, her daughter and medical experts Priya Soma-Pillay and Izelle Smuts of Steve Biko Academic Hospital. Their testimony and medical reports on antenatal care, labour, delivery and neonatal emergencies supported the State's case. The court has postponed the matter to 25 May 2026 for sentencing proceedings.

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Pretoria woman sentenced to life for the murders of 2 boyfriends and son

In another article, Briefly News reported that the Pretoria High Court has sentenced Ncumisa Selani to three life terms for murdering her two boyfriends and her 17-year-old son between 2016 and 2018.

Prosecutors said the killings began in 2016 after Selani discovered she had contracted HIV and blamed her Malawian boyfriend, Michael Changisa. They said she contacted another partner, Zimbabwean national Michael Phiri, and persuaded him to eliminate Changisa.

Source: Briefly News