Masvingo Regional Magistrate Bishard Chineka has acquitted the Masvingo Provincial Hospital Medical Superintend Dr Noel Ralph Zulu who was facing a culpable homicide charge after leaving a 30cmx30cm gauze inside a patient’s stomach.
According to The Mirror, Dr Zulu was acquitted on Wednesday, 25 September, following an application for discharge at the end of the State case made by his lawyer Oliver Marwa last Wednesday.
Magistrate Chineka acquitted Zulu after Dr Godfrey Zimbwa who performed the post-mortem on Gladys Sibanda concluded that the cause of her death was liver cirrhosis.
The court also ruled that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Sibanda’s death was caused by the gauze left in her abdomen in 2015.
Zulu was facing a culpable homicide charge as defined in Section 49 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23).
Prosecutors had alleged it was Zulu’s negligence that led to the death of the woman.
Surgical gauze is a type of medical fabric used primarily for wound care and surgical procedures. It can be used to cover wounds, control bleeding, and provide a barrier to infection.
Allegations were that the gauze remained in Gladys Sibanda’s abdomen for eight years from the date of the surgical operation in October 2015 to July 15 2023 when she collapsed and died while coming from a ZANU PF rally in Zaka.
The court heard that the deceased complained of chest pains and swelling abdomen soon after the surgical procedure and went back to Zulu who demanded another fee to do a second surgical operation.
However, the deceased could not raise the amount until she passed on, alleges the State.
The gauze was discovered by Dr Zimbwa when he carried out a postmortem on the deceased on July 18, 2023, and noted that it had puss. Reads the State outline:
The State will allege that the cause of the now deceased’s death was the retained surgical gauze/abdominal swab which was found lodged in the deceased’s abdomen.
The State further alleges that it was through the accused’s negligence that the surgical gauze was retained in the now deceased’s abdomen after the surgical operation by the accused.
The accused failed to exercise skill and duty of care required of a medical practitioner and surgeon in the manner he left the surgical gauze in the now deceased’s abdomen.
Sibanda died with a grossly distented abdomen, no external injuries, plus or minus five (5) litres of blood stained peritoneal fluid, significant amount of altered blood on omentum, a shrunken pale liver and retained abdominal swab with puss noted.
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