Chiwenga's wife fights for her passport

VICE President Constantino Chiwenga's estranged wife, Marry, is battling to retrieve her passport to enable her to seek urgent medical treatment in South Africa — with the State saying yesterday that she was a flight risk, the Daily News reports.

Marry is facing multiple charges, including claims that she wanted to kill her powerful husband during the time he was receiving medical treatment in South Africa two years ago.

High Court judge Benjamin Chikowero reserved judgment yesterday on Marry's application to have her passport released to enable her to travel to South Africa.

Marry has been diagnosed with lymphoedema — a condition her doctors describe as a build-up of fluids in body tissues that can no longer be drained, causing massive swelling and wounds. As part of her bail conditions, she surrendered her passport, which she now requires to travel to South Africa for medical attention — a move that is being vehemently opposed by the State.

This comes as Marry and Chiwenga are going through an acrimonious divorce. Yesterday, Marry was briefly brought to court by her mother after Chikowero asked to see her wounds — although he later aborted the plan, having come to the conclusion that this would not have a bearing on the decision that he would make on her application.

This was after Mtetwa had submitted that Marry's health condition had deteriorated to the extent that she risked having her arms amputated. Mtetwa also advised the court that Marry had similar wounds on both her thighs, adding that she should thus be afforded an opportunity to see a medical practitioner of her choice.

However, the State led by prosecutor Sharon Fero claimed that if Marry was given back her passport, she would not return to Zimbabwe as she had immovable properties in the neighbouring country. Fero also argued that as the State was still conducting extra-territorial investigations in South Africa these could be jeopardised by Marry's trip, as she would likely interfere with witnesses.

In her application, Marry filed two letters from a local neurosurgeon, Sydney Makarawo, and a South Africa-based plastic surgeon, Johan Van Heerden. However, Fero argued that Makarawo and Van Heerden were not specialists in the field of lymphoedema.

Mtetwa then argued that even Marry's husband, who is the minister of Health, had flown out of the country for a medical review recently, which highlighted the fact that local health facilities were not always up to scratch.

"The complainant in one of the matters that the appellant is supposed to answer to is the vice president of this country and the Health minister. "He has left a whole health department of his country to seek medical attention elsewhere and I believe that the appellant should be granted the same opportunity," Mtetwa argued.

Marry is being charged with attempting to murder Chiwenga when the retired military commander was on a medical visit to South Africa in 2018.

She is also facing a US$2 million money laundering and externalisation charge, as well as allegations of assaulting her child's minder. All these matters are pending before the courts.