All the fired doctors have 48-hours to return to work without re-applying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has promised after this was requested by the Catholic bishops.

The doctors were dismissed after they were found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.

Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Service Board against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.

Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a long meeting between President Mnangagwa and his deputies Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, and the Catholic bishops led by the head of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop of Harare, Robert Ndlovu at State House.

President Mnangagwa told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.

“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.State media