Man gets seriously ill after picking $5 note from a grave

A 24-year-old Sakubva man who picked a US$5 note placed on a grave at a local cemetery in Mutare is in critical condition after his right instantly got swollen and is now continuously discharging pus (hurwa) (ubomvu).

Chris Mutenje is wreathing in agony at Mutare Provincial Hospital where he was immediately admitted following the complication that has left his family members speechless.

The once bulky Mutenje has lost weight since last Saturday when he was hospitalised as his hand grew bigger by the day. When the news crew visited him on Monday along with his relatives and friends, Mutenje spoke with difficulties as he was in pain. Although his hand was bandaged, pus dripped from his fore finger.

Plastic sheets were spread on his bed to prevent the pus from spoiling the bedding and mattress.

"I am dying and I am in deep pain," emotionally said Mutenje.

He narrated that it all started after he picked the US$5 note at Yeovil cemetery where he had gone to attend a friend's burial.

"Moments after picking the money, I discovered that a small pimple had grown on my fore finger. I did not suspect anything and the following day I pierced the pimple with a sharp object in a bid to remove pus that had formed. The pus came out and I thought it was over. I later left some pain and the complication started affecting my finger nail.

"My hand felt numb and a woman from the neighbourhood came and removed the finger nail, saying it had been affected. After she removed the nail, it appeared as if I had been healed, but the hand started swelling. It was painful and I couldn't sleep at night," he said.

Mutenje said the hand grew bigger that he needed assistance to move it. His family members tried to administer traditional remedies, but suppuration - the formation of pus - took its toll. The whole hand was swollen and pus began to drip from the finger where the finger nail had been removed.

A stench engulfed the ward in which Mutenje was hospitalised as the pus came out and collected on the plastic sheets.

"I am going to the theatre soon and the doctors told me that they would drain the pus. I hope it will be gone for good because I am in great pain. I should not have picked that money because it is now affecting me. My mother has used a lot of money in hospital bills and I wish this could end and spare her these financial problems," he said.

His relatives and friends suspected juju.

"He was well before he picked up the money at the graveyard. My brother is now suffering and we are just praying that he recovers quickly. We want to see what happens after the operation," said Mutenje's sister who only identified herself as Mai Pardon.

His mother appealed to well wishers saying she was struggling to raise the money needed for the bills.

"I am a widow and it is hard for me to look for the money to pay his ballooning hospital bills. Those who wish to help are welcome to do so because the complication we are facing here is not a simple one. I have not seen anything like this in my life. How can pus come out of a hand continuously without stopping? They tried to bandage the hand, but pus keeps on coming out," she said.