A maternity ward in Zimbabwe at Masvingo Provincial Hospital just had seven nurses dragged into a disciplinary hearing for shaking down pregnant patients. These nurses, reportedly connected to some high-level Zanu PF officials and local medical bigwigs, were demanding fifty bucks in U.S. currency from women in labor just to do their basic jobs. The hospital big shots, like Superintendent Noel Zulu and Provincial Nursing Officer Cresencia Maphosa, ran the hearings, where the accused nurses basically copped to everything, saying the whole bribe scheme was standard practice for years.
The story gets darker. They mentioned a case from Gwanda Provincial Hospital where a woman named Molline Madziyire from Beitbridge allegedly died after not paying the bribe. The nurses' tactics were scummy, like faking equipment failures or demanding cash for cleanup after birth. Apparently, this corruption is epidemic across civil services, with cops, clerks, and judges all doing the same, a trickle-down effect from the top of President Mnangagwa's government. One nurse is married to a Zanu PF legislator from Chiredzi, another is linked to a deputy provincial medical director, showing how tangled this racket is. They even had a side hustle getting kickbacks from private X-ray referrals.
This mess only came to light because a cop at Masvingo Central reported a nurse who extorted his wife. The hospital has been dealing with other scandals too, as a senior nurse was fired for stealing strong painkillers and abortion drugs, and lab staff were charged with stealing medical supplies earlier this year. Officials admitted to investigating but played it close, while sources say the guilty nurses apologized and implicated everyone else in the ward.
The story gets darker. They mentioned a case from Gwanda Provincial Hospital where a woman named Molline Madziyire from Beitbridge allegedly died after not paying the bribe. The nurses' tactics were scummy, like faking equipment failures or demanding cash for cleanup after birth. Apparently, this corruption is epidemic across civil services, with cops, clerks, and judges all doing the same, a trickle-down effect from the top of President Mnangagwa's government. One nurse is married to a Zanu PF legislator from Chiredzi, another is linked to a deputy provincial medical director, showing how tangled this racket is. They even had a side hustle getting kickbacks from private X-ray referrals.
This mess only came to light because a cop at Masvingo Central reported a nurse who extorted his wife. The hospital has been dealing with other scandals too, as a senior nurse was fired for stealing strong painkillers and abortion drugs, and lab staff were charged with stealing medical supplies earlier this year. Officials admitted to investigating but played it close, while sources say the guilty nurses apologized and implicated everyone else in the ward.
