HARARE - Senior officials at St Antony’s Musiso Hospital in Masvingo have allegedly received death threats following a visit to political violence victims by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently, the Daily News has learnt.

The case has left the provincial Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) divided on the course of action to take.

Modester Mutombwa, a matron at the school, confirmed that Jomic officials had interviewed staff and patients.

“I can only tell you that people who said were from Jomic were here over that issue and they also talked to the patients. I cannot say much,” said Mutombwa.

The provincial spokesperson for Masvingo Province Harrison Mudzuri said he had also received reports that staff received an anonymous phone call threatening them with death for attending to injured MDC supporters and hosting Tsvangirai earlier this month.

The MDC supporters were injured when their homesteads were petrol-bombed by suspected Zanu PF supporters.

“We received information that as soon as the Prime Minister left Musiso Hospital the matron and other senior staff received an anonymous call threatening them with death and quizzing them on why they allowed the premier to see the victims and why they gave medication to our supporters in the first place,” said Mudzuri.

Contacted for comment Jomic leaders in the province gave conflicting statements with Zanu PF co-chairperson Lovemore Matuke saying the organ is yet to receive a full report on the claims.

“We will deal with the matter as Jomic once they communicate to us officially but what I know from my experience with MDC is that there is a lot of fabrication and when we go to the ground we often find some of these allegations to be false,” said Matuke.

MDC led by Welshman Ncube co-chairperson Denaya Muchovo said they had not yet met over the issue as a provincial committee.
“Unfortunately, we have not met as Jomic over the issue yet so I cannot give a satisfactory comment. Once we meet you can get the information,” he said.

The MDC co-chair Wilstaff Sitemere said the organ had sent liaison officers who were yet to report to the main provincial body.

“We are still to get the report from the liaison officers whom we have sent to verify on the ground so it is premature to say exactly what transpired,” Sitemere said.

MDC supporters Nelson Bvudzijena and Evelyn Havazi recently had their homestead petrol-bombed and destroyed leaving them hospitalised at Musiso Hospital. - Mugove Tafirenyika