Vice President Constantino Chiwenga cried for help when his then wife Marry Mubaiwa tried to pull out an intravenous life-saving tube at a South African hospital in 2018.
This was said by Health and Child Care Deputy Minister John Mangwiro while testifying before Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka on Monday in Mubaiwa’s trial for allegedly attempting to kill Chiwenga.
NewsDay reported that Mangwiro, who was Chiwenga’s personal doctor, said he rushed into the intensive care unit where Chiwenga was booked after he heard him screaming for help.
Mangwiro told the court that Mubaiwa tried all means to kill Chiwenga.
He said he was forced to board another aircraft without his patient who needed care during the flight. Said Mangwiro:
When we arrived at Lanseria Airport in Pretoria (South Africa), the accused person delayed us for more than three hours at the airport where she had a misunderstanding with the immigration officials.
She told the immigration officials that her son was Chiwenga’s biological son, but the documents bore other names. We waited for three hours as there was a stand-off.
He said the delay was unnecessary because Chiwenga needed urgent medical attention. Added Mangwiro:
We were supposed to go to NetCare Hospital as we had left Zimbabwe for that destination. To my disappointment, the then powerful accused directed us to Sheraton Hotel.
It was a dangerous decision because it continued to endanger the life of the Vice-President.
We then got to the basement of the hotel and we immediately confronted the accused to say the Vice-President needed life-saving hospitalisation rather than to come to a hotel.
She responded to me saying the Vice-President needed to rest in the hotel. I continued to argue until Major (Blessing) Muringi joined, saying we needed to go to the hospital and I discovered that prior arrangements had already been made.
Mangwiro said after Mubaiwa refused to book Chiwenga into the hospital, he had to phone President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who advised them to convince her to have him admitted to the hospital.
He also said Mubaiwa refused to take Chiwenga to the hospital the next morning.
Mangwiro alleged that Muringi and Chiwenga’s security staff also failed to convince Mubaiwa, which led him to call Dr Willi Leo Seiling to the hotel. He said:
At around 5 PM on June 24, 2019, that is when we were allowed to take the Vice-President into the intensive care unit. She remained at the hotel and she did not accompany the complainant to the hospital.
As a doctor when monitoring the patient to be told to leave the room you’ll then ask yourself what she wanted to do.
You’ll start questioning the type of drugs the complainant is said to have taken.
Mangwiro also said Mubaiwa was accompanied by one Bruce, who was referred to as a medical doctor.
He said he later learned that Bruce was not a medical doctor but was actually a veterinary surgeon.
Mangwiro said he reported the incident to Mnangagwa, leading to Chiwenga’s transfer to China for further medical attention.
He added that when they took Chiwenga to India in 2019 for medical attention, he quickly recovered but became seriously ill after returning home.
Chakanyuka postponed the matter to September 7 for a continuation of trial.
More: Pindula News