Frustration for former Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba as he waits days for treatment at Joburg public hospital

The family of Ephraim Shakes Mashaba have voiced their displeasure following the poor treatment of the former Bafana Bafana head coach at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.

Mashaba, who was at the helm of Bafana Bafana from 2002 to 2004, and again between 2014 and 2016, was recently admitted to the hospital after suffering from a bladder infection. 

However, for the first two days, the 74-year-old was not seen by doctors at the hospital in Auckland Park.

“He was admitted on the 27th of January. He was very bad. His tongue was swollen and closed the airways. The care is not good. Remember, this is a public hospital, so it has its own challenges. The coach didn’t see a doctor for a day or two,” a family spokesperson said in a Radio 2000 interview.

“When he finally saw a doctor, he was given a half diagnosis. They said they needed to put in a catheter, but when it was time to remove the catheter, the doctor didn’t come.

“An hour after it was removed, there were more complications, and he couldn’t pee again.”

Mashaba, who played for Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows in the 1970s, has not worked in football since leaving his post at Witbank Aces in 2019.

Three years earlier, he was suspended and later fired as Bafana Bafana head coach following some critical comments about South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan.

In 2004, Mashaba was suspended and fired by SAFA due to his relationship with star players Benni McCarthy, Quinton Fortune and Mark Fish, who were all playing in England at the time.

IOL Sport