Way to go, Dr. Beetroot

New liver? Check. Paid for? Check. Booze? CHECK!

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) — South African President Thabo Mbeki shrugged off opposition calls to fire his health minister on Monday after a newspaper reported she is an alcoholic and still drinking despite having a liver transplant.

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, dubbed “Dr. Beetroot” by opponents for advocating garlic and beetroot to fight AIDS, had a liver transplant in March as a result of a long-running battle with hepatitis, her doctor said at the time.

But the Sunday Times newspaper said the minister had alcoholic liver cirrhosis from years of excessive drinking when she had her transplant, and used her position to secure a new liver while hiding her alcoholism from the public.

As part of a five-month investigation into the health minister’s conduct that has prompted calls for her dismissal, the newspaper quoted witnesses who said Tshabalala-Msimang continued to drink since recovering from the operation. The paper also said she was convicted of stealing a watch from a patient while superintendent of a Botswana hospital in 1976.

Watch? Check!