Veteran comedian Lazarus Boora, known by his legion of fans as Gringo, has fallen sick again after failing to raise money for medication.

Gringo, who turned 47 last month, is battling tesnel or intestine obstruction and experiencing discomfort in sitting, backache coupled by hearing and talking difficulties.

The actor last year had appendix surgery before he relocated to his rural home in Rusape.

Now, he has returned to Harare where he is staying with his wife Netsai Meki and three children.

When The Herald Arts visited Gringo in Hatfield, Harare, yesterday, he was lying in agony and looking frail.

Sadly, unlike his former self, Gringo failed to crack jokes which he normally does effortlessly whenever he meets the Press or new people.

His wife and two nieces, Eridha Boora and Rhoda Ganga, had to help him onto the couch.

The nieces, who both hail from Chimanimani, came after they were called on Saturday that the veteran actor was now seriously ill.

Barely after five minutes, Gringo, who was clad in white T-shirt and navy blue cargo pants, could not sit up straight and requested to lie down.

“Let me lie down, then I will wake up”, he softly said.

His wife put a pillow behind his back, saying that is now his routine.

“That is how he is surviving now, sleeping and sitting for a few minutes. He is in pain compared to before.

On Saturday we took him to a hospital in Waterfalls because his condition was worsening. They said he was dehydrated. He is failing to eat properly, and if he eats, he vomits and is suffering from diarrhoea.

We give him only a few spoons of porridge and he eats amorsel of sadza, which he sometimes can’t finish. Now he is having back problems. The doctor said he might have an infection in his intestines and needs to go for a scan. The challenge now is finances to go back to his first surgeon,” narrated his wife.-Chronicle