Businessman driven to contemplating suicide

PRETORIA businessman, Alfred Mokoditoa, says he almost committed suicide after medical schemes terminated his contracts allegedly based on the colour of his skin.

This resulted in Mokoditoa losing his pharmacies.

He revealed this during an interview with the Sunday Independent this week.

Mokoditoa, the owner of Amalig Pharmacies, had four pharmacies in Atteridgeville and downtown Pretoria.

All the pharmacies were forced to close in 2011 when, medical aid schemes allegedly terminated his contracts based on trumped-up charges, and irregular audits.

The alleged charges, which Mokoditoa described as discrimination against him, saw his businesses being blacklisted before their closure.

As a result, Mokoditoa, a breadwinner, could not provide for his family and is now dependent on his wife, Ntebeng, to feed him and the kids.

“This is not easy,” said Mokoditoa.

He said the idea of ending his life came to him several times, but his wife and children gave him hope despite the many challenges they were facing.

“But I am worried about my kids because they inspire me. Both my children and my wife have brought hope. I don’t know where I would be without them,” said Mokoditoa.

Had he gone ahead with taking his life, Mokoditoa would have been yet another statistic in the growing number of men committing suicide due to depression and mental health issues.

According to international figures, 13 774 suicides were reported in South Africa in 2022, and 10 861 of them were men, putting it 10th on the list of countries with the most suicide.

Fortunately, Mokoditoa did not give in to the urge to end it all, and decided to fight for his businesses at the Equality Court. He is also fighting against his “unfair” dismissal by Clicks in the Labour Court. He was a manager at the retail outlet and fired allegedly after blowing the whistle against Clicks' “racial” decision to close black-owned pharmacies in black communities.

Mokoditoa who worked for Clicks between 2014 and 2022, said he had not had an income since he was fired. He had been searching for a job without any luck, adding that it could be that he had been blacklisted.

“It has been difficult because I am also a whistleblower trying to expose what these people have done. And since then I have been struggling to get a job. I believe I have been blacklisted because they (Clicks) have said that. They mentioned that after I took them to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

“They told me to drop the case.....I think they have blacklisted me,” he said.

Mokoditoa said he had not been able to pay the university registration fees for his twins. He said the situation was sad.

“I used to cover 80% of the needs in the house but now it is my wife only and it is difficult. It’s like we have nothing. That’s how bad it is for me.

“It’s more than a year without an income and you can imagine how difficult it is,” he said.

Mokoditoa said he still could not accept the closure of his pharmacies, saying he had big plans to expand them.

“I also wanted to have my franchise and I was building towards that. This is where I would be able to help the community and compete with big brands such as Clicks and Dischem,” said Mokoditoa.

He remained hopeful that the courts would be impartial in deciding on his matters against Clicks and the medical aid schemes.

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za