Online Reporter
THIS week’s mampara is a vendor from Gokwe, who decided to masquerade as a medical professional with results so horrifying they will make you squirm.
Mavis Sibanda, 33, who sold various wares in Gokwe Central, apparently harboured secret ambitions of becoming Zimbabwe’s most unqualified medical practitioner.
Armed with nothing more than a needle, an HIV testing kit and the kind of confidence that only comes from complete ignorance, Mavis embarked on a journey that would land her behind bars.
On May 26, 2025, at Sai Mart Supermarket, a little Grade Five learner was called over by Sibanda as she passed by her vending stall.
What happened next was so bizarrely inappropriate that you would think it was made up for a dark comedy sketch.
The self-appointed “Dr” Sibanda callously grabbed this 10-year-old child’s finger, jabbed it with a needle, drew blood and slapped it onto an HIV testing kit like she was conducting some backyard science experiment.
The poor child was left crying and traumatised, while Sibanda presumably stood there thinking she had just performed some kind of community service.
Thank goodness for the two Good Samaritans who found the crying child, listened to her story and immediately knew something was seriously wrong.
They accompanied her home and divulged the matter to her father, who rightfully called the police.
The Gokwe Magistrates’ Court was clearly not impressed with Sibanda’s DIY (do-it-yourself) medical misadventures, slapping her with 24 months in prison.
These are two whole years to think about why grabbing random children and conducting unauthorised medical tests might not be the brightest career move.
Sibanda, the vendor who confused her market stall with a medical clinic, will live to rue the day she combined child assault, unlicensed medical practice and sheer stupidity into one unforgettable act of mamparaness.
Online Reporter