One of Zimbabwe’s largest referral health facilities, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (PGH) is making efforts to safeguard the public from bogus people who pose as its employees with malicious intentions to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.
This comes after three people were arrested at the hospital for impersonating doctors this month.
Also Read: Bogus doctor caught at Parirenyatwa hospital
In a statement, PGH said that in 2023 alone, 33 offenders were picked up by its Security Department, while this year from January 2024 to date, 11 suspects have been nabbed. The hospital said:
Bogus Doctors, bogus tutors who extort prospective student nurses and thieves who steal from both staff members and patients are some of those criminals who have been picked up and handed over to the police.
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals is a vast institution with close to 400 Doctors of all professional levels and a total staff establishment of close to 4000.
Unscrupulous people take advantage of our vastness and complexity to carry out nefarious activities.
Fortunately, our Surveillance Teams remain vigilant and have always apprehended these unruly elements who try to penetrate and abuse our systems.
PGH said investigations it has carried out so far have established that the 3 recently arrested fake Doctors did not manage any patient.
It vowed that surveillance teams shall continue to flush out criminals bent on abusing public trust in the institution.
The three fake doctors who were arrested at the hospital in April 2024 are Andrew Mapulanga (52), Blessing Nyanzira (24), and Douglas Garikayi Mutoredzanwa.
Mapulanga was caught by an alert security officer at Parirenyatwa Hospital on 15 April. His arrest followed the discovery of articles intended for criminal use.
Mutoredzanwa was arrested on 23 April after his bizarre behaviour revealed that he was bogus. It is alleged that while analyzing an X-ray in front of a patient, he held it upside down. His arrest at Parirenyatwa Hospital revealed an outstanding warrant related to a 2019 case.
Nyanzira was arrested on 25 April as he attempted to bypass a staff security checkpoint during the lunch hour break.
All three men appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court and their cases are yet to be finalised.
