News / National
Rats deface corpse at Marondera Hospital
30 Jun 2011 at 04:02hrs | Views
A Mutoko family was left furious because they had to forgo the body viewing tradition of their relative Zacharious Nyakudanga (54). The deceased was defaced by rats at Marondera Hospital and the family did not want to expose mourners to that.
The deceased, Zacharious Nyakudanga (54), fell victim to rats that have pervaded Marondera Hospital Mortuary. His eyes, mouth and nose were eaten leaving the corpse hideously faceless. Zacharious' brother and family spokesman Elson Nyakudanga was a bitter man and he had no kind words for authorities at Marondera Hospital.
"How are we going to conduct a body viewing session when my brother is defaced like this? "Imagine the doors of the mortuary are not secure and rats will be running all over the place. The hospital must act quickly and rectify this situation," lamented Elson. When H-Metro visited the mortuary, mourners were hurriedly collecting their kin's bodies to avoid a similar situation.
"We have been advised to immediately collect the body because the electricity blackouts were negatively affecting the corpses," said one of the mourners. A senior nurse at the hospital who identified herself as Matron Ngara could neither deny nor confirm that the body was mauled by rats. "We can not deny or confirm the story as we are not allowed to speak to the Press.
"Visit our Provincial Medical Office to get permission and I will give you full details thereafter. "Rats might be found yes, but I can only comment further after authorisation," said Ngara. The Provincial Medical Officer, who was identified only as Mudyirabima, was not in his office and refused to comment over the phone.
"I cannot give you a comment over the phone," he said. However, inside sources at the hospital told H-Metro that rats are a menace at the mortuary mainly after power outages. "Failure to collect bodies within three days usually results in the rats feasting on them. Maggots are a common sight at the mortuary,
"Authorities are taking forever to respond to this state of affairs yet people are complaining daily about this," said the source. The late Zacharious Nyakudanga died from pulmonary Tuberculosis B according to the medical records and was buried in Mutoko village with burial order 471/11. Last year another TB patient was also attacked by rats at the same hospital and later died as a result of the wounds sustained, it was alleged.
The deceased, Zacharious Nyakudanga (54), fell victim to rats that have pervaded Marondera Hospital Mortuary. His eyes, mouth and nose were eaten leaving the corpse hideously faceless. Zacharious' brother and family spokesman Elson Nyakudanga was a bitter man and he had no kind words for authorities at Marondera Hospital.
"How are we going to conduct a body viewing session when my brother is defaced like this? "Imagine the doors of the mortuary are not secure and rats will be running all over the place. The hospital must act quickly and rectify this situation," lamented Elson. When H-Metro visited the mortuary, mourners were hurriedly collecting their kin's bodies to avoid a similar situation.
"We have been advised to immediately collect the body because the electricity blackouts were negatively affecting the corpses," said one of the mourners. A senior nurse at the hospital who identified herself as Matron Ngara could neither deny nor confirm that the body was mauled by rats. "We can not deny or confirm the story as we are not allowed to speak to the Press.
"Visit our Provincial Medical Office to get permission and I will give you full details thereafter. "Rats might be found yes, but I can only comment further after authorisation," said Ngara. The Provincial Medical Officer, who was identified only as Mudyirabima, was not in his office and refused to comment over the phone.
"I cannot give you a comment over the phone," he said. However, inside sources at the hospital told H-Metro that rats are a menace at the mortuary mainly after power outages. "Failure to collect bodies within three days usually results in the rats feasting on them. Maggots are a common sight at the mortuary,
"Authorities are taking forever to respond to this state of affairs yet people are complaining daily about this," said the source. The late Zacharious Nyakudanga died from pulmonary Tuberculosis B according to the medical records and was buried in Mutoko village with burial order 471/11. Last year another TB patient was also attacked by rats at the same hospital and later died as a result of the wounds sustained, it was alleged.
Source - HM
