Bongani Ndlovu
Amon Mpofu, Online Reporter
A woman living with a mental health condition is silently enduring intense pain following a suspected hit-and-run incident in Bulawayo late last year.
The woman, known only as Mirie and believed to be in her twenties, was reportedly struck by an unknown motorist around mid-December 2025, sustaining a fractured left hand and cuts to her face. The driver allegedly fled the scene, leaving her injured and helpless.
Mirie, described by those who know her as gentle and humorous, claims to originate from Tshabalala suburb. Vendors operating in the Tredgold area along Fort Street and Leopold Takawira Avenue say they have known her since 2024, where she frequently visits their stalls.
According to witnesses, Mirie disappeared for several days in mid-December, only to reappear with her hand in a plaster cast and visible scars on her face. An unidentified Good Samaritan is said to have assisted her by taking her for medical attention, although details surrounding the assistance remain unclear.
Despite surviving the accident, Mirie continues to suffer. Her plastered hand appears bent and heavy, and her discomfort is evident in her facial expressions. She rarely sits down, and any sudden movement exposes the pain in her eyes. Her mental health condition makes it difficult for her to remain still or to seek help on her own.
When approached by the Zimpapers news team, Mirie spoke briefly before walking away.
“It’s painful, it broke towards the shoulder here,” she said in a trembling voice.
Amai Kuda, a night-time vendor operating in the Tredgold area, said she has known Mirie for nearly three years and has often given her food.
“Mirie is such a sweet character I have ever met. I know her from almost three years ago. She says thank you if you give her food. I sell tea and bread here, among other everyday dry foods. The main food I usually offer Mirie is tea and bread. She listens if you ask her to do anything. She doesn’t force doing any of what you ask her to do. If you say leave here and come back later, she does exactly that you instruct her. I wonder what happened to her mental health,” she said.
Amai Kuda said she was deeply distressed upon learning that Mirie had been injured in a road traffic accident.
“I am truly hurt to learn that Mirie is hurt badly. There were days when I wasn’t seeing her coming as usual around mid-December last year. I was worried about her and partly thinking that her family may have taken her home. That wasn’t true. After some days she popped up with a plaster and scars on her face. I almost burst into tears seeing such an innocent soul enduring the pain.
“The thoughts of her coming to me smiling for food popped up seriously when I could just see sadness in her eyes and signs of real pain showing up on her. I told her to sit by the pavement as I prepared her regular meal. I asked her what happened and she said a car ran over her. I continued to ask her who assisted her and she said a stranger took her to the hospital,” she said.
She expressed concern that Mirie’s condition could worsen without proper medical follow-up.
“I am afraid that her hand may rot. Mirie requires a collective effort by well-wishers to be washed after being attended to by the hospital with regards to the removal of the plaster she is having. She may have been broken. We thank the person who assisted her. She no longer knows where she got assisted though,” said Amai Kuda.
Taxi driver Mr Cuthbert Msoko, who also knows Mirie, said her suffering is impossible to ignore.
“The way Mirie’s cry is so loud in her silence needs people to hear her and take action. Every time I see her, I get diverted from my focus and concentrate on her. I start wishing to be a medical practitioner and take her and check her.
“She scratches her body in a pathetic manner. I think it’s the dirt on her body. We once proposed that we should buy her a reflector as she can stand even in the middle of the road before this happened to her. She doesn’t sit at a place for long even while she is suffering such excruciating pain on her hand. I wish she can get assistance as soon as possible,” he said.
Online Reporter