Luke-ing the Beast in the Eye: SPECIAL REPORT—-A tribute to Bikita nurse Progress Muzuva, an unsung national heroine

Today, 13 August 2025, marks exactly seven years to the day since the fateful day when Bikita nurse Progress Muzuva sustained serious injuries that broke her spine, legs and rendered her immobile.

Now semi-paralysed—and as she wallows with limited mobility in the dark rictus of neglect by a government she selflessly served—Progress’s mind will today reflect on how it all began exactly seven years ago to the day.

August is Heroes month and Progress Muzuva is definitely an unsung national heroine.

It all began on the night of Monday, 13 August 2018 when Progress was assigned as part of her duties to escort a pregnant patient to Silveira mission hospital.

As she sat with the patient on the back of the ambulance van, the patient suddenly became unstable, screaming and wanting to throw herself out of the vehicle.

The patient had just lapsed into a vicious and violent delirium, beating up Progress and banging the body of the ambulance.

The ambulance driver was unaware of the chaos at the back of the van. It was only when the patient smashed the ambulance window in her quest to jump out, with Progress struggling to pull her back to safety, that the driver became aware that his human cargo had turned the journey into a frenzied and ferocious melee.

As Muzuva fought tenaciously to restrain her violent patient, the driver screeched the ambulance to an abrupt halt and went to the back to investigate.

When the driver opened the back-door of the ambulance, he was greeted with raining punches from the patient.

With the driver still in dazed confusion , the patient broke free of Progress, jumped out past the stunned driver and bolted into the dark night.

Progress led the driver in a hot pursuit into the pitch darkness of the night in search of her treasured pregnant patient.

Fortunately, they found her and brought her back to the ambulance.

Progress, injured but still driven by a stunning sense of care, stuck by the side of her violent patient inside the back of the ambulance van.

But more violence would come later.

Moments later, the patient went into labour and Progress, now wounded and nursing injuries herself, helped deliver the child.

Upon realising the baby was a girl, the mother became violently delusional and accused Progress of swopping her baby, even though there were just the two of them at the back.

The mother now wanted to kill the baby girl.

Progress tightly held the baby for protection as the mother meted untold violence on her. The heroic nurse ignored the vicious and ceaseless assault on her own body as her unstinting duty of care told her to prioritize the protection of the baby girl from a pugilistic mother who now wanted to kill the innocent infant.

Experts described the mother’s condition, her anger at the newly-born baby girl, as post-natal depression caused by a patriarchal society that puts pressure on women if they fail to bear a boy child . Hence the mother’s anger upon realising her baby was a girl. .

The following morning, Progress discovered she had sustained serious injuries; a broken spine, a broken leg and other grievous body injuries. She could not walk and her legs were heavily swollen.

Following her injuries while at work, her employer, the government, callously refused to provide her with transport to a neurosurgeon at Gweru’s Claybank hospital.

The valiant nurse had to personally scrounge and beg for cash with which she then hired a commuter omnibus from her own pocket to transport her to hospital.

Her condition deteriorated.

This dedicated government employee who had been injured while at work personally paid for her CT scan, X-ray, and for every medical consultation for the past seven years.

The government gave her a normal sick leave and not a compensatory sick leave as should have been the case since she had been injured in the course of duty.

But her unconscionable employer was not yet done in betraying her.

She is now bedridden and wallowing in a debt of over US $11 000 as she had to borrow money, probably from usurious creditors, to seek medical help for injuries sustained while at work.

The government was still not done with its vile insensitivity

Though injured at work, Progress was only paid her full salary for only two full months soon after her injuries. Her employer simply neglected her and left her to die.

Upon enquiring, she was told off and shooed away by the ministry’s insensitive and arrogant staff.

At great personal cost, Progress underwent spinal surgery in 2019 and by now she was worse off both financially, morally and medically..

She could neither walk nor use the toilet. She was, and still is, wearing adult diapers for injuries sustained while selflessly serving the government of Zimbabwe.

By 2021, her condition deteriorated even further and the government, which had idly stood by throughout her predicament, was now pressuring her to retire.

Her employer refused to accept that she had been injured at work and simply wanted her out of active government employment where her service had been nothing but exemplary.

At one point the government even reportedly hired lawyers to dispute the fact that she had been injured at work.

On another occasion, a Health ministry official called Miss Masale told Progress off and said she (the official ) did not bathe every day to come to work to deal with Progress’ issue.

She was arrogantly told off.

In January 2023, she went for yet another operation for which she paid out of her own parlous pocket.

She had rods and screws installed on her back.

Still trying to get assistance from her employer, she went to the Masvingo Medical director’s office and was denied access.

And then the killer punch.

In 2024, she learnt that her unconscionable employer, the “esteemed” government of Zimbabwe, had forged a letter on her behalf stating that she had accepted retirement in 2022.

Yes, a whole government resorted to forgery just to get rid of a brave and dedicated nurse who had stuck to her duty, braving vicious assault as she protected an innocent life.

The government that claims to leave no one behind just wanted her to go.

No assistance.

No compensation.

No dime.

No compassion.

Now we have three girl “children” deserving attention here: an innocent nurse, a distraught mother traumatised by a shamelessly patriarchal society and an innocent baby girl .

What is it with this government?

Is it gendered bigotry? I

s it unmitigated cruelty?

Is it vile arrogance?

Or is it all devilish traits combined?

As ED and his acolytes buy lavish cars and spend millions on musicians, social media influencers, podcasters and anyone or anything chanting Mnangagwa’s name, no one in government is sparing a thought for this hapless Bikita nurse whose only crime is her fidelity to her sworn duty of care.

Indeed, Progress is a national heroine.

She represents thousands of civil servants who toil for this satanically unconscionable government; a dastardly regime that will betray its own workers in their hour of despair when they start grappling with challenges and ailments incurred while at work.

The government has since issued a long and convoluted statement stating that it played its role in assisting Progress. The Health ministry stated Progress was awarded compensation in October 2924, which compensation was backdated to 2018, a point Progress disputed in her own statement of rebuttal.

In fact, Progress described the government statement not only as fraught with errors of fact but as a feeble attempt to cover-up following public pressure.

Given that this is a government that reportedly forged a letter on behalf of a bedridden employee , I am more tempted to believe Progress than this callous regime.

Today, with a millstone of a debt of over US$11 000 hanging on her neck and now suffering near-paralysis, Progress will today reflect on how it all began on the ominous night of 13 August 2018, exactly seven years ago to the day.

Welcome to Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Second Republic.

Luke Tamborinyoka is a UK-based journalist who comes from Domboshava. He is also an ardent political scientist. You can interact with him via his facebook page or via his X-handle luke_tambo.