HARARE – The recent death of popular Sungura musician Tatenda Pinjisi, who was involved in a tragic car accident, has exposed the dire state of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, as highlighted by a distressing video that surfaced on social media showing him pleading for painkillers in a hospital bed.
Pinjisi, 34, succumbed to his injuries at in Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare on Sunday, days after an accident near Norton that also claimed the lives of two of his band members and a passenger.
Following his death, a distressing video surfaced on social media showing a visibly injured Pinjisi in a hospital bed pleading for painkillers.
In the short clip, he can be heard repeatedly asking for “Pain-Eeze,” a locally available pain reliever. A woman in the background assures him she will inform the nurses.
Zimbabwe’s healthcare system is in shambles due to over two decades of economic mismanagement, corruption and maladministration by the current Zanu-PF regime.
To make matters worse, the country has continued to fall short of its commitment to the Abuja Declaration, which requires allocating at least 15% of the national budget to the health sector. Zimbabwe’s health budget has consistently failed to meet this target.
Prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, in a social media post, shared details provided by a doctor at Sally Mugabe Hospital. According to the doctor, the hospital experienced a power outage, forcing nurses to use cell phone torches.
More alarmingly, the doctor stated that there were no strong painkillers available for Pinjisi, who reportedly suffered broken bones in the accident. Chin’ono quoted the doctor as saying that Pinjisi died in “excruciating pain” due to the lack of adequate medication.
The doctor further asserted that a patient with injuries sustained in a road accident who manages to reach a central hospital alive should not die due to a lack of basic medical supplies. Chin’ono attributed the shortages to the alleged mismanagement of public funds.
“The doctor told me that what he needed was a strong painkiller, but as I often report here, there was nothing available to give him.
“The doctor said no patient should die like this from a road accident if they have managed to reach a central hospital alive. But in Zimbabwe, you die because there is nothing in the public hospitals, absolutely nothing.
“Tatenda should not have died, but he died because of Mnangagwa’s corrupt rule, which loots public funds meant for hospitals,” Chin’ono stated.
Chin’ono also relayed that prominent musician Alick Macheso was reportedly so distraught upon hearing the news that he abandoned his performance.
Chin’ono then posed critical questions to fellow musicians who have seemingly aligned themselves with the current political regime, questioning their support for a system allegedly contributing to such healthcare failures.
“I heard that one of Zimbabwe’s biggest musicians, Alick Macheso, broke down and cried on stage and abandoned his show when he heard the news,” he said.
“But I have a question for my brother Macheso. What goes through your mind as musicians when you go to sing and praise for this regime?
“Tatenda is not the first musician to die like this. Garry Mapanzure died the same way. Why do you promote a political system that is killing your own people?
“And to the fans of musicians who sing and twerk for Zanu-PF, why do you go to shows of musicians that glorify the system that is killing you daily? You must reflect if you have common sense.”
The doctor who spoke to Chin’ono reportedly urged all Zimbabweans to recognise the critical state of emergency medicine in the country, suggesting that without access to private healthcare, individuals risk similar fates.
