Zimpapers Logo

Temba Dube Deputy News Editor
The stolen bag for which a top Mpilo Central Hospital executive allegedly paid about $45,000 to recover has been found, with the official saying he fears someone might get killed in the hospital’s bribes-for-tenders drama.Added to the original contents of the were five live bullets, said Dr Solwayo Ngwenya, the Mpilo acting clinical director.

Sources told The Chronicle that the bag, which was stolen from Dr Ngwenya’s car on April 24, caused a stir when someone left it at the parcel counter at Pick n Pay at around 12PM on Wednesday.

“It looked very suspicious and police were called because everyone thought there was a bomb inside,” said a source.

Dr Ngwenya yesterday said he had been receiving death threats from unknown people since the disappearance of the bag containing flash disks and keys to offices of four suspended Mpilo executives. He said contrary to police reports, there was no laptop.

Mpilo CEO Lawrence Mantiziba, operations director Duduza Regina Moyo, finance director Charles Govo and the chairperson of the central buying unit, Mxolisi Sibanda, were suspended last month after a preliminary audit revealed the hospital could be losing millions of dollars through tender scams.

Health Minister David Parirenyatwa has since ordered a full scale audit into the hospital’s affairs.

Dr Ngwenya told The Chronicle that he was terrified by the discovery of the bullets.

“My security has been compromised. Obviously this is a message, which could mean: be careful, next time I will shoot you,” said Dr Ngwenya.

He said he believed the Mpilo audit story was bigger than what everyone thought, adding there were bad and desperate people who feared being exposed by the audit.

“My life has become a constant nightmare as I’ve been forced to stop driving to work. Suspicious looking people have been following me around. I’ve been forced to hike to work on occasions,” said the acting clinical director.

Dr Ngwenya even warned The Chronicle to take precautions.

“What you’re doing is making someone very uncomfortable. Think carefully about your safety,” he said.

Dr Ngwenya said whoever had the bag must have panicked when The Chronicle ran a story about Brett Sibanda, 23, who is being charged with allegedly swindling Dr Ngwenya of about $45,000. He had claimed he knew where the bag was, and demanded money for its return, according to prosecutors.

“I received a call from police at Bulawayo Central Police Station saying my bag had been found. I went to collect it and was shocked to see the bullets. Everything else was intact,” he said.

Burglars broke into Dr Ngwenya’s Mazda CX7 vehicle — which has an advanced security system — in less than two minutes and snatched the bag outside a supermarket in the city.

It was suspected the thieves were after the keys, which Dr Ngwenya had been entrusted with by the hospital’s board an hour earlier.

On April 20, burglars broke into the accounts office at Mpilo apparently in a bid to steal tender documents which exposed the rot at the hospital. A day later, the keys were stolen.

On April 22, members of the board were evacuated from the boardroom after reports of a bomb. A meeting to map out a strategy for the extensive audit was aborted as the board members were rushed to safety. It later turned out the bomb scare was a hoax.

The board chairperson Sichelesile Moyo-Ncube said at the time that the documents were moved out of the hospital to a secret location long before the break-in. She said keys and padlocks to the offices were changed less than an hour after the keys were reported stolen.

The Chronicle lifted the lid on alleged corruption at the health institution in February, when a $3 million tender, which had been awarded to Bulawayo businessman Ashton Mpofu’s New Planet Company, was cancelled after he allegedly refused to bribe officials.

Duduza Regina Moyo alleged Mpofu threatened to harm her following the cancellation and requested a bodyguard. He refutes her claims.