adminPost Correspondent
POLICE have urged custodians and guardians of mental patients to quickly seek assistance at the nearest police stations when the patients become violent.
This comes in the wake of last Friday’s incident in which a mental patient, Washington Musiringofa (50) of Nyaude village, Chief Marange, attempted to kill his father Peter Musiringofa (70) using an axe.
Peter was seriously injured and is at Mutare Provincial Hospital in critical condition.
Manicaland police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Luxson Chananda said that Washington has been a mental patient since 2004.
“On this afternoon, he came up to his father, Peter holding an axe. He went on to strike the father once on his forehead and thrice on the head resulting in severe bleeding,’’ said Assistant Insp Chanada.
Washington is still at large.
“Since cases of mental patients committing crime have increased, an awareness campaign has been conducted to teach people on how they should monitor the patients to get their medicine in order to stabilise their illness.
“At the present moment no mental health institution is facilitating in Mutare, so we need to play a big role to protect both the community and the mental patients because at the end of the day mental patients can not be arrested,” said Asst Insp Chananda.
Online Reporter