How Vice President Chiwenga screamed for help as death stared him in the eye

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga reportedly screamed for help when his ex-wife Marry Mubaiwa allegedly attempted to remove an intravenous life-saving tube in a South African hospital in 2018, according to testimony presented in court yesterday by Health and Child Care deputy minister John Mangwiro.

Mangwiro claimed that when he heard Chiwenga screaming for help, he hurried into the intensive care unit where he was being held.

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Chiwenga’s personal physician, Mangwiro, was testifying in Mubaiwa’s trial for attempting to murder Chiwenga.

Additionally, he said in court that Mubaiwa used every available tool to murder her ex-husband because he was compelled to board another plane without his patient, who required care during the entire trip.

“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,” Mangwiro said. “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, adding that he was surprised when they were led to a hotel instead of NetCare Hospital, where he had booked for Chiwenga.

“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 Mubaiwa refused to book Chiwenga into hospital and he had to phone President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who advised them to convince her to have him admitted to hospital.

He also said Mubaiwa refused to take Chiwenga to the hospital the next morning. He said Muringi and Chiwenga’s security staff pleaded with Mubaiwa to no avail, which led to him to call Dr Willi Leo Seiling to the hotel.

“At around 5pm 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,” he said.

Mangwiro claimed Mubaiwa was joined by a man named Bruce, who was initially mistakenly identified as a medical doctor but turned out to be a veterinary surgeon.

Mangwiro claimed that after informing Mnangagwa of the event, Chiwenga was sent to China for more medical care.

He said that when they took Chiwenga to India in 2019 for medical care, he immediately healed, but unexpectedly fell seriously ill after returning home. He explained this before magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka.

The case was tabled until September 7 so that the trial may continue.