ED says to remove State House curfew
4-yr-old adds to poison mushroom death toll
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to remove the restriction of passing through Chancellor Avenue between State House and Zimbabwe House in Harare between 6PM and 6AM to allow free passage at all times.
The restriction of passage between 6PM and 6AM was introduced on the road in the 1980s after some people threw missiles at Zimbabwe House prompting government to tighten security, President Mnangagwa said.
e road has traffic signs informing motorists that it is closed between 6PM and 6AM. Speaking to journalists at a press conference in Victoria Falls last Thursday, President Mnangagwa said he was impressed by the level of tolerance and political maturity among Zimbabweans, hence chances of a similar attack occurring are limited.
He said Zimbabweans should be allowed to enjoy their freedom.
“I am not sure at your age if you understand why this happened, it was in the 1980s when some people driving along Chancellor Road fired rockets onto Zimbabwe House. So we didn’t want that possibility of people using proximity to Zimbabwe House and we closed that road between 6PM and 6AM because the incident happened at night,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said the new dispensation wants people to enjoy their freedoms.
The President said security personnel guarding the section of the road will remain in place.
“It is my belief that the possibility of such a thing is now very remote. I have no doubt and have confidence in our own people that they have respect for our own institutions,” the President said. He called for tolerance and unity among Zimbabweans.
“It is my view that if we do well and if we are all united there is no need for firing rockets. We can’t force respect through such means so I am going to make sure that closing is removed because after all we have security patrolling so why not allow people freedom,” added President Mnangagwa.
Last year in May, a South African professional hunter, Adriaan Philip Olivier (31), was fined $150 for trespassing after he drove his vehicle through the barricades along the same road at around 3AM.—@ ncubeleon A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl from Filabusi who had been in the intensive care unit at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after eating poisonous mushrooms has died, bringing the family death toll to five.
The Filabusi family lost four other members, all children, who were buried last week.
According to the family, eight members including the children’s grandmother ate the mushrooms two weeks ago. The grandmother and two boys aged seven and 10 have since recovered.
Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya said the girl’s condition kept on deteriorating from the time she was transferred from Filabusi District Hospital.
“Unfortunately we have lost the four-year-old girl who was in our ICU for a week. The girl died during the early hours of Thursday and we continue to send our condolences to the family which has lost five members,” said Dr Ngwenya.
“It’s such a tragedy and we plead with members of the public to desist from picking or buying mushrooms from informal suppliers. They would rather buy those from registered shops so that we avoid unnecessary loss of life.”
Meanwhile, Filabusi District Hospital is currently doing a clinical audit as the family alleges that when eight members presented themselves at the hospital after eating the mushrooms, nurses only attended to two children and
Ms Sakhile Moyo, a nurse who was based at the Roman Catholic run St Anne’s Hospital in Mphoengs, died on the spot.
Matabeleland South police could not be reached for comment.
Plumtree District Medical Officer, Dr Langalokusa Sibanda, described Ms Moyo’s death as a great loss.
“It’s a great loss to the district and the Ministry as a whole. She was a dedicated and experienced midwife. As a Ministry we pass our heartfelt condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace. It’s so sad,” said Dr the grandmother.
The family alleges that there was negligence at the hospital as the other children were sent back home, only for their condition to deteriorate.
The family ate the poisonous mushrooms on March 3, leading to the death of one person on March 6 in Filabusi and another one on the following day upon admission at Mpilo. On March 8, the family lost two children at Mpilo bringing the death toll to four.
Three of the children were buried in Filabusi last Monday while the fourth one was buried on Tuesday.
Their deaths bring to 16 the number of people who have died so far due to mushroom poisoning over the past few weeks. Eleven others died in Mberengwa.—@thamamoe
Sibanda.
According to a police source, there were 18 passengers in the kombi.
“At the Bhulu area, the driver saw a police truck in front of him. Because he was speeding he could not brake. He tried to overtake at high speed and lost control of the vehicle,” said the source.
“The six are admitted at UBH where they are in a serious condition. Some of the passengers were treated and discharged at St Anne’s Hospital,” he said. —@ richardmuponde.