testified that she was in severe pain and no alternatives to the procedure were explained to her by the hospital personnel. She did not ask the nurse any questions since it sounded that the nurse was forcing her. She only discovered afterwards that she had been sterilised. She testified that she felt very bad as a result of the procedure 17 because in her culture if a woman is unable to give birth then her in-laws might tell her that the husband should divorce or desert her. [34] When it was put to her during cross-examination that both Dr Mavetera and nurse Angula will testify that she requested sterilisation and was made aware at that stage that the procedure is irreversible and that she would be unable to bear any children, it was denied by the plaintiff. She disputed that she actually used the Oshiwambo word for sterilisation when she requested it. She denied that Dr Mavetera explained to her that the reason for the cesarean section was because of her condition namely that the baby’s head was too big to pass normally through her pelvis. The plaintiff denied that a nurse translated to her stating that it was a student nurse. She testified that she could read English but was not asked to read the consent form but believed that she signed the form to consent only to the removal of her child. She testified that it was not her intention to be sterilised and that she did not give consent for sterilisation. [35] Innocent Mavetera testified that he qualified as a general practitioner in 1995 and as a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology in the year 2000. He testified that he was called by nurse Angula to review the plaintiff. He examined her and found that the membranes were ruptured and the head of the baby could not fit the pelvis and that she would not have a normal delivery. He established that the plaintiff was on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) after talking to her. He ordered a caesarean due to CPD plus BTL. He testified that he explained to the plaintiff that since she cannot deliver on her own she was going to the theatre to be operated on and to remove the baby. He testified that after he had explained this the plaintiff decided that “she also wants to be closed”. Since “closing patients” is not a routine, especially when they come for caesarean section he explained what sterilisation means and what her future chances are of having children. The nurse would be translating and the patient would later give consent after she has understood what was explained and the patient would then sign the 18 consent form. He testified that the plaintiff was there for 14 to 15 hours in the hope that she would deliver normally. According to him he would not have performed a sterilisation if the plaintiff had no previous children, but since it was her second live birth he thought it reasonable enough to do the procedure. He testified that plaintiff would normally have decided on sterilisation during antenatal care because sterilisation is a method of contraception and normally contraception is discussed at the antenatal clinic. He stated that the plaintiff did not sign the consent form in his presence. In respect of a second consent form dealing