Controversial activist Dr Peter Magombeyi, who “sneaked”
out of the country last week, is reportedly receiving treatment at the upmarket
Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Information obtained by The Sunday Mail yesterday indicate
that Dr Magombeyi is currently holed up in South Africa and may later proceed
to the United States on a medical scholarship.
He left the country in dramatic scenes when he sneaked out
through the back door of a local medical facility where he was receiving
treatment. The media was eager to get first-hand information from the youthful
doctor about the purported abduction.
Dr Magombeyi, who was born in 1993 and grew up in Bulawayo,
was allowed to travel to South Africa after Judge President Justice George
Chiweshe ruled that he could proceed to Johannesburg.
Police had sought to block him from travelling citing
security concerns. His alleged disappearance on 14 September, 2019 has not been
proved to date as an act of abduction as there are conflicting narratives as to
what exactly happened.
Zimbabwe Hospital Doctor’s Association acting president’s
version of events is understood to be inconsistent. Initially investigators were told that he left home (2915
Budiriro 2 house in Harare), where he lives with a Dr Jena, for an all-night
prayer at an undisclosed church.
He, however, told police he had actually gone for a “drink
with the boys”.
Prior to the alleged abduction, Dr Magombeyi reportedly
posted on his social media pages in August 2019 a screenshot of a threatening
SMS on his phone reading: “Usazoti I did
not warn you. Ramba uchiita nharo. Uchatorwa nechamupupuri. We are getting
close now.”
It seems Dr Magombeyi never bothered to make a police
report of the threatening messages, fuelling speculation that it could be part
of a well-choreographed script.
The phone number which purportedly sent the threats is not
registered. It is during these “threat days” that Dr Magombeyi called
for a strike by junior doctors.
But it has since been revealed that Dr Magombeyi was
actually in trouble with his Harare Central Hospital bosses for alleged
absenteeism.
In fact, he reportedly went through a disciplinary hearing
on 10 September, 2019 — four days before being “abducted”.
What is also puzzling is that Dr Magombeyi can hardly
remember what exactly transpired when he was allegedly abducted by the unnamed
gang.
Interestingly, although he could not remember his
abductors, he did not forget his Twitter page, where he posted just a few days
after the alleged disappearance thanking those who prayed for him.
What also complicates the abduction line is the involvement
of opposition political parties and some foreign embassies known for stopping
at nothing to discredit the Zimbabwean Government.
Some known career “human rights” activists who survive from
donor handouts could not miss a chance to please their handlers.
In an interview with a United States-based pirate radio
station, Dr Magombeyi was quoted as saying: “I remember being in a basement of
some sort, being electrocuted at some point, that is what I vividly remember. I
just don’t remember.
“I barely remember anything. I think I am having retrograde
amnesia, I just don’t know.”
The Sunday Mail understands that a team of doctors led by
Trust Zaranyika, Aaron Musara, Andrew Mataruse, Walter Mangezi and Shingirirai
Meki examined Dr Magombeyi in the presence of his lawyers Messrs Doug Coltart
and Jeremiah Bhamu.
The doctors’ notes indicate that Dr Magombeyi was suffering
from “significant neurocognitive and psychological dysfunction” and an
affidavit stated that he required “brain imaging and toxicological evaluation”
outside Zimbabwe.
Dr Magombeyi enrolled into the National University of
Science and Technology (NUST) Medical School, where he also became a student
representative in 2014 before graduating in 2018.
He is on his first year internship at Harare Central
Hospital, raising speculation as to how such a junior doctor can lead ZHDA.
The doctor has not made his political ambitions a secret,
posting on his Facebook page that he was an “aspiring politician”.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Cde Cain
Mathema recently warned that the Government would not hesitate to promulgate
new laws to punish those who abuse social media making baseless abduction
claims against the State.
He issued a chilling warning that those who make such
allegations “should prove their case or go to jail”. Sunday Mail
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