Paul Nyathi

A man who posed as a doctor at one of Zimbabwe’s biggest hospitals for seven months is in remand prison after being arrested by the police following a report by the hospital.

The man, Admire Chisi, has been charged with fraud and impersonating a public official after he posed as a physician registrar in the accident and emergency department at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

During the seven months, he attended to patients, wrote medical affidavits and issued prescriptions.

In the latest development, Temba Moyo alleges that the fake doctor had demanded a bribe of USD1,300 for treating his son who eventually died during the ordeal at the hands of the doctor.

He says it was this bribery demand that led to the fake medic being arrested.

Speaking early morning to ZimEye.com, Mr Moyo alleged his child’s mother did not tell the truth on how the son died when she spoke to state run media. The state media said the mother is suspicious that Mr. Admire Chisi was arrested following her child’s death in a statement that may exonerate the fake doctor of murder charges.

“I was told that the fake doctor attended to him in the company of baba mukuru.

“My child died on Monday after he was brought to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

“He was then attended to by another doctor who tried to save him on the oxygen.

“He told the doctor what had happened before he died and it is not about an accident.

In the exclusive interview with ZimEye.com Mr Tembo gave his own account saying the son’s death came after Chisi had posed as a doctor for him [the son] and then demanded money.

He began by saying the son “had an accident involving a kombi full of 13 people at Churchill and Borrowdale road … my inlaws wanted money, we went and got the burial order but the mother went and got the wrong information published,” he said. He continued saying, “after we had settled the inlaws began demanding money. So the story that came out in H Metro is untrue. When we got married, there emerged conflicts in how the process was done. This is still an outstanding matter; They were shifting matters all over the place referring me to different people who should handle the marriage. So when the accident happened, they began blaming my brother trying to extort him,” he said. He added saying the inlaws are accusing his brother of assault leading to his death in an accident while with an unnamed woman inside the car. He then went on to narrate his account of how his son died. He said, “I can connect you with the police officers nd you phone them; in the honda fit was my brother with my son, in the Caravan kombi were the 13 people who collided with the honda fit… My son was first attended to by the fake doctor. What got him arrested was my mupfanha’s case,” he told ZimEye. He said of the fake doctor, ” and also he was demanding USD1,300.00 I have messages [from him] He had demanded USD1000 from my brother, from me he was demanding USD300.00 when he clearly knew my son had died. I don’t know he got my number, whether he got it from my son, or my brother, I just can’t tell.”

Mr Tembo told ZimEye his son’s injuries were not that bad at the time of the accident, so he was likely killed by the fake doctor during his pursuit for money.

FULL INTERVIEW LOADING BELOW…

Zimbabwe’s doctors have been on strike since the beginning of the year over pay and poor conditions, including inadequate personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Aaron Musara of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association said the incident was indicative of broader problems.

“The issue of the man who masqueraded as a doctor for several months is an undoubtable indicator of the breakdown of systems as health-care workers sank deep into incapacitation because of low wages,” he said.

“It is well known that the time this bogus doctor moved in, is that very time when there was a void because doctors and nurses could not report for work daily because of financial incapacitation.

“One can only wish the powers that be would see that delays in attending to genuine grievances, preferring to think there were no problems, bred this.”