Weekend behind bars for bogus doctor

By Prosper Dembedza

The young bogus doctor who served in the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals casualty unit for seven months remains behind bars this weekend after the state opposed bail, with the magistrate only ready to give a bail decision on Monday.

Admire Chisi (25) from Zimre Park, Ruwa, allegedly attended to patients and wrote medical affidavits and prescriptions until a senior doctor discovered his shenanigans this week.

Chisi was charged with impersonating a public official and fraud when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga.

In opposing bail, prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa told the court that the state had a strong case against Chisi and that he endangered the lives of many patients as he was writing medical affidavits and prescriptions. As a result there was a high risk Chisi would abscond.

Chisi’s lawyer argued that the State had not previously mentioned the alleged danger that was encountered as a result of his client’s action. Chisi was a proper candidate for bail and was a man of fixed abode.

Mrs Taruvinga deferred the matter to Monday for ruling.

It is the State’s case that between April and Tuesday this week, Chisi went to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, where he misrepresented that he was a medical doctor.

He was apprehended after Dr Tapiwa Nyakudya finally noticed that Chisi was not acting as a professional doctor should and he failed to produce his practising certificate.

The court heard that Chisi was taken to the police where a report was made, leading to his arrest. Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Wednesday issued a statement confirming Chisi was a fake doctor and that they had handed him over to the police.

However, labour lawyers, medical experts and other commentators questioned how the hospital could be infiltrated by a bogus doctor for seven months. They blasted the leadership for failing to properly supervise staff while the security section of the institution was criticised for laxity. The Herald