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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A ZIMBABWEAN woman died after being denied medical assistance while detained at a police station in Botswana. Nonhlanhla Ndebele, 21, was arrested on Wednesday last week for illegal migration. She was critically ill at the time. Ndebele was on her way to her home area in Dombodema Resettlement area in Bulilima District, from the neighbouring country when she was arrested.
Police detained her for four days and she later died after succumbing to chest pains and difficulties in breathing.

Her father, Jabulani Ndebele, said Nonhlanhla could hardly walk at the time she was arrested.
“I received a call from Nonhlanhla’s church mates from Botswana informing me that she was critically ill and was facing difficulties in breathing. She did not have a passport and two of her friends offered to bring her home illegally.

“The arrangement we made was that they would accompany her to an illegal crossing point and we would collect her from there,’’ said Ndebele.
“However we were informed by her church mates that they had been arrested as they were nearing the crossing point. Her church mates told me that they had each been fined P2,000 and were released but Nonhlanhla had remained at Masunga Police Station,’’ he said.

Ndebele said he later received a phone call from the Botswana police on Saturday informing him of his daughter’s death.
Nonhlanhla’s grandmother, Dorothy Phiri, said her granddaughter had a chronic chest problem that had afflicted her at a tender age.

“My granddaughter had chest pains and whenever they started she would have difficulties in breathing. She always needed medical attention to recover.

“Her church mates told us that they tried to explain to the police that Nonhlanhla was not well and she needed medical attention urgently but they would not listen. Instead the police indicated that Nonhlanhla was an illegal immigrant and she had to be taken into custody regardless of her condition,’’ said Phiri.

She said Nonhlanhla left for Botswana in March in search of employment.
“My granddaughter only attended school up to Grade Seven as her father could not raise money for her school fees. It is only this year that she decided to travel to Botswana illegally in order to get a job. Poverty pushed her to do this because of the hardships that her family is facing,’’ Phiri said.

She said she last spoke to her granddaughter on Wednesday morning and she was struggling to speak.
Phiri said members of Ndebele’s church told her they were assisting her to return home as her condition was deteriorating.

The family yesterday told Chronicle they had travelled to Botswana to collect Nonhlanhla’s body but were still waiting for a post mortem to be conducted.