Online Reporter
Peter Matika, [email protected]
ANOTHER scandal has rocked Mpilo Central Hospital, following the arrest of a 25-year-old woman who allegedly forged academic certificates to gain entry into the institution’s nursing training programme.
Sandra Kudzaishe Ndege, from Murehwa in Mashonaland East, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Abednico Ndebele on Thursday, facing charges of fraud and forgery. She pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody until September 29.
According to court documents, Ndege twice failed her Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level exams before allegedly producing a fake certificate showing passes in eight subjects, including English, Mathematics, and Science.
Armed with the forged document, she applied for a place at the Mpilo School of Nursing in September 2023 and was accepted. She went on to train as a Registered General Nurse for nearly two years and allegedly received a monthly salary during her studies.
“In September 2023, she applied for a place to train as a Registered General Nurse using the fake certificate as proof of educational qualifications. Mpilo Hospital School of Nursing acted upon the misrepresentation and enrolled her as a student nurse,” read the court papers.
The fraud was uncovered in July this year, after the hospital requested Zimsec to verify her results. Officials confirmed the certificate was fake, leading to her arrest.
Court records show that in 2018, sitting at Shalom Academy in Murehwa under candidate number 030769/3018, Ndege passed only three of seven subjects, failing both Mathematics and Combined Science. When she re-sat in 2019 under candidate number 030769/3103, she passed only one subject.
The forged certificate, however, painted a completely different picture — listing fabricated passes in Agriculture (A), History (A), Combined Science (B), English Language (B), Shona (A), Literature in English (C), Geography (B), and Mathematics (C).
This case comes barely six months after the conviction of Taurayi Prosper Vanhuvaone (29), who masqueraded as a medical doctor at the same hospital for two years.
Operating under the alias Prosper Mpofu, Vanhuvaone treated patients without qualifications, ran an unauthorised office within the hospital, and even duped job-seekers with fake nursing school placements.
He also attended to patients at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), all while defrauding individuals by promising nursing school placements in exchange for cash.
He was sentenced in March to seven years in prison, with part of the sentence suspended on condition of restitution — effectively serving three-and-a-half years. The back-to-back scandals have raised serious concerns about vetting and monitoring systems at Mpilo. Chief Medical Officer Dr Narcisius Dzvanga said the institution deeply regretted the lapses and has since tightened internal checks to prevent further infiltrations.
