Two people have appeared in court facing murder charges after allegedly performing an unlawful goitre operation on a 51-year-old woman under a backyard shed in Chitungwiza, resulting in her bleeding to death.
Douglas Mutoredzanwa of Warren Park D in Harare and Perpetua Mataba of Unit D, Chitungwiza, appeared before Chitungwiza Magistrate Evelyn Mashavakure facing murder charges.
They were not asked to plead.
The State, represented by Talent Goremusandu, told the court that on September 24, between 1pm and 6pm, Mutoredzanwa allegedly masqueraded as a medical doctor and invited Margaret Gwamura of Njenje Village under Chief Mangwende in Murehwa to Mataba's homestead for the procedure.
The court heard that upon her arrival, Mutoredzanwa allegedly asked Mataba to bring buckets of water before instructing Gwamura to sit on the ground under a shed.
He allegedly administered two injections into her neck before using a surgical razor blade to cut off the goitre, which he then allegedly placed in a plastic bag.
Related Stories
Gwamura allegedly began bleeding profusely from the wound.
Mutoredzanwa allegedly attempted to stop the bleeding by placing cotton wool and a bandage over the wound before putting her on a drip, but his efforts failed.
The State alleges that he then left Gwamura lying on the ground facing upwards and abandoned the scene.
Relatives who were present reportedly noticed his absence and tried calling him on his mobile phone, but he did not answer.
The relatives and Mataba then alerted the police, who attended the scene and found Gwamura lying lifeless on the ground.
The two were remanded in custody to October 8, 2026, for routine remand.
Leave Comments