Mangwana had made the offensive statement on his official
Twitter handle where he claimed that some doctors had become “medical
assassins” and were acting like “mini Josef Mengele”, a German Nazi officer and
physician who performed medical experiments on Jews during World War II.
His statement came soon after the deaths, due to COVID-19
of Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, Transport minister Joel Biggie
Matiza and Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Ellen Gwaradzimba and other
Zanu PF stalwarts last week.
However, his statement was roundly condemned, as doctors
immediately responded and blasted him for making reckless statements that had
the effect of stoking tensions in the country which is currently struggling to
contain the second wave of the coronavirus.
But yesterday, Mangwana apologised saying that he had no
intention to offend the doctors.
“I expressed my personal opinion on an issue a DR (doctor)
had tweeted on. I had no intention to offend any doctors or call any of them
names. Since it has caused such offence, I withdraw it and apologise for any
offence caused. I just hope we can move on and not be distracted from work at
hand,” Mangwana tweeted.
Most of the now-deceased ministers were admitted at local
private hospitals. Mangwana alleged that some of the country’s doctors were
political activists.
Meanwhile, discord has erupted among teachers unions over a
call by the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) that government should come
up with COVID-19 mitigation strategies to open schools soon.
This was said by the Zimta chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu
who felt that it was imperative for the government to map out strategies to
reopen schools so that the children’s future is not destroyed.
The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) immediately
reacted saying it would be suicidal to encourage government to reopen schools
anytime soon. In a statement, the PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said Zimta’s
assertions were ill-conceived.
“Teachers and pupils are not immune to the COVID-19
pandemic. At a time when government officials are decimated by COVID-19, it is
foolhardy to imagine that government can protect teachers and pupils.
Government has shown no interest to buy testing kits in order to test all the
136 000 teachers and almost five million learners,” Zhou said.
He said the PTUZ would resist any attempts to reopen
schools at a time teachers’ welfare had not been considered.
“We will not allow a situation where teachers and pupils
are taken as if they are of no account in Zimbabwe. Teachers and pupils’ lives
matter,” Zhou said. Newsday
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