Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
THERE was drama at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital when a patient on crutches turned into a thief, allegedly stealing copper pipes from the very ward that was treating him.
Police confirmed the bizarre arrest of Taona Dzimbo (40), who was caught red-handed vandalising hospital property while still admitted with a fractured leg.
“The suspect was admitted at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital where he was caught while damaging hospital examination lights and removing internal copper components,” police said in a statement.
Investigators said hospital staff became suspicious after noticing flickering lights and missing fixtures in one of the wards. A quick search led to Dzimbo’s bedside locker, where the shocking discovery was made.
“Forty-five pieces of copper pipe, each measuring 20 centimetres, and an aluminium pipe were recovered from the suspect’s hospital locker,” the police added.
What stunned both patients and nurses was how Dzimbo allegedly managed to move around on crutches while quietly stripping the hospital’s fittings like a seasoned electrician.
“He’s still under police guard at the hospital,” police said, adding that the daring copper crook will face charges of theft and vandalism once discharged.
Dzimbo came was admitted with a broken leg but seems to have healed fast enough to climb up and strip lights.
While hospitals are meant to be places of healing, this patient seemed more interested in “copper therapy,” a twisted treatment that could now earn him a jail term instead of a discharge slip.
