Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
A man claiming to a be a doctor and is accomplice who allegedly performed an unlawful surgical procedure to remove a goitre from a 51-year-old woman who later died have appeared at the Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Court facing murder charges.
Douglas Mutoredzanwa of Warren Park D and Perpetua Mataba of Unit D, Chitungwiza, were not asked to plead when they appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Ms Evelyn Mashavakure.
They were remanded in custody to October 8. The deceased, Ms Margaret Gwamura, was from Njenje Village under Chief Mangwende in Murehwa.
The State, represented by Ms Talent Goremusandu, alleges that on September 24, between 1 pm and 6 pm, Mutoredzanwa, who allegedly claimed to be a medical doctor, invited Ms Gwamura, who was suffering from a goitre, to Mataba’s homestead where the procedure was to be performed.
Upon arrival, the court heard, Mutoredzanwa asked Mataba to provide buckets of water and instructed Ms Gwamura to sit on the ground under a shed.
Mutoredzanwa allegedly administered two injections on Ms Gwamura’s neck before using a surgical razor blade to cut off the goitre.
The growth was allegedly placed in a plastic bag. The State alleges that Ms Gwamura then began bleeding heavily from the wound.
Mutoredzanwa allegedly tried to stop the bleeding by placing cotton wool and a bandage over the wound before putting her on a drip.
However, his efforts allegedly failed to stop the bleeding.
The court heard that Mutoredzanwa then left the scene, allegedly abandoning Ms Gwamura lying on the ground facing upwards.
Relatives who were present reportedly noticed that Mutoredzanwa had left and made several attempts to contact him on his mobile phone, but he allegedly did not answer their calls.
The relatives, together with Mataba, then alerted the police.
Police attended the scene and found Ms Gwamura lying on the ground showing no sign of life.
