Episode 14: The Forensic Pathologist

This is the interview I’ve always hankered after, and it couldn’t have been with a nicer person.

Chatting with Dr Linda Liebenberg, consultant state pathologist at Tygerberg Mortuary, I discovered someone with a deep reverence for life, with a relentless pursuit for justice, and a healthy dose of wry black humour.

A graduate of Stellenbosch University Medical School, Dr Liebenberg got her first forensic pathology break in Namibia, and hasn’t looked back since. “Not everyone can do this work,” she says. “It chooses you, not the other way around.”

We are indeed fortunate to have people like her, unafraid to look deeply where many of us would never dare. The lessons she’s learnt, from countless people of all types, ages, sizes and shapes landing on her examination table, is shared in this episode. “I’m not so sure about how to die,” she says - “but I do know how not to die!”