By Mapaballo Borotho
- A Pretoria court has sentenced former midwife Maritz Fouchee to 23 years in prison for crimes involving pregnant women and newborn babies.
- The court found her guilty of multiple offences, including assault, fraud, and culpable homicide linked to the death of a nine-day-old baby.
- Prosecutors said she failed to properly manage pregnancy complications and administered labour-inducing medication without patients’ knowledge.
The Pretoria High Court has sentenced 48-year-old Maritz Fouchee for crimes committed against pregnant women and newborn babies.
Fouchee was sentenced on Thursday, 28 May 2026, on multiple charges including assault, assault involving a legal duty, culpable homicide, fraud, and employing an unqualified person.
The court handed down the following sentences:
- Five years’ imprisonment on six counts of assault
- Five years’ imprisonment on each count of assault involving a legal duty
- Eight years’ direct imprisonment for the culpable homicide of nine-day-old Noah Von Kloeg
- Two years’ direct imprisonment for fraud
- Twelve months’ direct imprisonment for employing an unqualified person
Several of the sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of 23 years’ direct imprisonment.
Fouchee was the owner and midwife at You and Me Midwife Led Maternity Care.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Fouchee failed to properly respond to pregnancy complications and neglected to refer patients to appropriate medical specialists.
“During the birthing process, Fouchee would offer pregnant mothers water mixed with Cytotec or Oxytocin in order to induce and augment labour without their knowledge. On 3 April 2019, one of the victims’ labour was induced. She gave birth, and nine days later her baby died due to complications overlooked by Fouchee,” said Mahanjana.
During the trial, Fouchee pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied committing the offences.
However, the court found that she acted negligently by failing to refer patients for specialised medical care when it became necessary.
The judge further emphasised that everyone has a constitutional right to life and that Fouchee had no right to endanger the lives of mothers and their children.
READ NEXT: Two government officials arrested for the brutal murder of Mpumalanga forensic investigator
The post Pretoria midwife sentenced to 23 years for crimes committed against pregnant women appeared first on KAYA 959.
