‘No medical facility to treat Mary Chiwenga in Zim’, she wants her passport to go to SA

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro | Nehanda Politics |

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged and ailing wife, Mary Mubaiwa has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking release of her passport for her to go and seek medical treatment outside the country.

Mubaiwa is currently out of bail facing criminal charges including attempted murder, money laundering, fraud and assault. Her passport is with the clerk of court as part of her bail conditions. She wants it to travel to South Africa and get treatment.

“I have approached this Honourable Court for relief as I’m advised that in terms of this High Court’s judgment, magistrates have no power to authorise the variation of bail conditions to include temporary release of a passport and to suspend reporting conditions.

“I’m in extreme pain, I now have to carry a gadget which drains the liquids from the wounds. Without immediate specialist care, the wounds are becoming more and more septic and it is paramount that I receive immediate urgent attention to these injuries as the only specialist who has attended to them is in South Africa. There is simply no other way I can receive the necessary treatment in Zimbabwe,” she wrote in her affidavit.

Mubaiwa said she is supposed to seek medical attention outside the country after suffering severe injuries from the White City Stadium, Bulawayo, bomb blast on June 23, 2018 at a rally that was addressed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“When I was arrested I was undergoing treatment for wounds that I suffered in a bomb blast in Bulawayo in 2018 and treatment was undertaken by Dr. Johan van Heerden and I hereto attached as Annexure F a copy of a letter from the doctor confirming that I had indeed been undergoing treatment as long ago as 2018 and what the nature of treatment was.

“I nevertheless continued to seek treatment from local doctors but regrettably, the condition worsened to a point where I had difficulties in walking. The wounds on my arms have become worse and in this respect I am prepared to attend court so that the court can see for itself the extent of the wounds and how I definitely require immediate and urgent treatment.

“If I cannot attend court, I confirm that my legal practitioners can show the court both still pictures and video evidence of the wounds.

“I have consulted many doctors locally and regrettably, none of them have been able to successfully treat my injuries which have become worse with each day,” she said.

Johan van Heerden, Mubaiwa’s doctor, in his supporting affidavit of an urgent chamber application filed at the High Court said there are no specialists in Zimbabwe to treat Mubaiwa with the rare medical condition known as lymphoedema.

“Mrs. Chiwenga (Mubaiwa) needs specialised wound care and lymphatic drainage to prepare the wound on her arms for skin grafting.

“I believe that Marry needs treatment of the wounds first for her to limit the pain and anxiety that goes with the injuries. For that to happen, the wound care must be handled by a specialist in lymphoedema management.

“There are no lymphoedema specialists in Zimbabwe.

“Skin grafting can only be done if tissues of the wound beds are healthy and the opdama is under control. Failure to adequately prepare the wound beds will cause the skin to fall and the whole process to restart,” Heerden wrote in his affidavit.

The matter has not been set down for hearing. Nehanda Radio