Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent
Continuation of the trial of Marry Mubaiwa on charges of attempting to kill her ex-husband, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, by unplugging his life support system in a South African hospital was yesterday postponed to September 13 as a key State witness and Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro is in Egypt on national duty.
During the last court sitting, Dr Mangwiro told the court that he caught Mubaiwa red-handed while pulling a tube from the Vice President’s chest.
He said this prompted him to ask the Vice President what was going on since he was crying out for help and he told him that Mubaiwa was pulling the tube and it was painful.
The Deputy Minister who is also the Vice President’s personal doctor, submitted in his evidence in chief that he heard the VP crying out for help, while in the intensive care unit after Mubaiwa tried to pull out an intravenous life saving tube.
He said Mubaiwa tried every means to make sure that Vice President was dead.
Dr Mangwiro said Mubaiwa used to visit the Vice President with a white guy called Bruce who was purported to be a medical doctor but in actual fact it was discovered that he was veterinary doctor.
Dr Mangwiro said at one point he was disappointed when Mubaiwa took the Vice president to a hotel while he was in need of immediate hospitalisation.
He told the court that after noticing that Mubaiwa was refusing to have the VP booked into a hospital he phoned President Mnangagwa who then told him to try and convince her to have him admitted at the hospital.
“The President said continue to look after him and negotiate with her (Mubaiwa) and take him to the hospital. We were in a hotel where there was no equipment to resuscitate the patient and he could have died,” he said.
He said he had to report Mubaiwa’s actions to President Mnangagwa through a phone call and that was when they arranged to transfer the VP to China for further medical attention.
