By Meditation Mposi
Masvingo Provincial Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Noel Zulu has appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Bishard Chineka facing charges of culpable homicide after a patient he operated on in 2015 died and was allegedly found with a cotton swab in the abdomen.
Zulu, who pleaded not guilty will be back in court on September 25 for sentencing.
It was the state’s case that sometime in 2015, Zulu performed an operation on the now deceased, Gladys Sibanda Mapwashike on the abdomen at Masvingo Provincial Hospital and left a cotton swab inside.
Since then, Mapwashike’s abdomen started to swell, as she lost weight and her health deteriorated until she died in 2023.
On July 16, 2023, Mapwashike attended a Presidential rally in Zaka after which she collapsed on her way back and was ferried to Msiso Mission Hospital where she died upon admission.
A post-mortem was conducted with suspicions that she could have been poisoned at the rally and the body was taken to Masvingo Provincial Hospital where Dr Godfrey Zimbwa did the postmortem on July 18, 2023. An old cotton swab was found in the deceased’s abdomen.
Giving his testimony in court, Dr Zimbwa said the swab was found in the abdomen but it could be the least cause of the Mapwashike’s death.
Dr Zimbwa said he observed that Mapwashike’s body had no external injuries, had plus or minus five litres of blood stained with petronal fluid, clotted blood on the abdomen indicating that there had been a slow bleeding likely for weeks or months since the blood was old looking. He also observed a shrunken pale liver almost creamish in colour indicating a condition called liver cirrhosis and too much fluids in the abdomen.
Dr Zimbwa further said a medical doctor could not be accountable for the swab in the abdomen as a number of people are involved when conducting a surgery including one or two surgeons, a scrub sister and a runner. He said a scrub sister is the one who is responsible for auditing instruments used during a surgery. Prior to a surgery, instruments to be used are counted and are counted again post-surgery. If they are missing the operation starts again to search for the missing instruments.
Dr Zimbwa said the liver problem which resulted in too much fluids in the abdomen could be the cause of Mapwashike’s death but did not dismiss that the swab which was found in the abdomen could also be a potential cause of death.
Dr Zulu is being charged with culpable homicide as defined in Section 49 (1) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 09:23.
