She made her bed, now she must lie in it.
This was my husband’s unsympathetic reaction as news broke that Vice President, Constatino Chiwenga’s ex wife, Mary Mubaiwa’s arm had been amputated.
Indeed, it was a view shared by quite a few. Many people have no mercy for Mubaiwa, who is battling acute lymphoedema, which is causing swelling and open wounds on her arms and legs.
Numerous applications to seek treatment in South Africa have been unsuccessful and the result has been her losing her right arm.
Mubaiwa is on remand facing numerous charges, which include allegedly attempting to kill her ex husband, Chiwenga, fraud and money laundering.
Despite her grave ill health, the courts, or Chiwenga to be precise, have had no pity at all to allow her to seek medical help outside the country. On numerous occasions she was wheeled to the courts for mention as pleas by her doctors to give her a chance to recover fell on deaf ears.
Judging from what is happening, it appears Chiwenga is hell-bent on a revenge mission on the mother of his children for whatever she did to him.
The courts in Zimbabwe are not fully independent and it is clear that in Mubaiwa’s case, the Magistrate dealing with her case has been under instruction not to release her passport and to make sure she appears for mention no matter the circumstances.
I personally feel sad for her despite her uncouth behaviour during her days as the ‘second lady’ of Zimbabwe.
She has her flaws but she is not a hardcore criminal. Many say she shouldn’t have involved herself with Chiwenga in the first place considering their ages of 67 years and 40 years respectively. They say, probably for her, it was more about having a soft life than love and now she is paying the hard price.
In other news, jaws dropped last week following revelations that the parliament of Zimbabwe had approved purchase of 173 laptops valued at US$9,200 each – more than P110,000 per laptop!
If our government was serious about fighting corruption, whoever approved this tender would be fired. Where in the world has a laptop been sold for such a ridiculous amount, even the most expensive ones are nowhere near that price. In Zimbabwe, with that money one can buy three good second hand Honda Fit vehicles yet someone thought they would just buy one laptop.
Such levels of corruption and looting are so embarrassing yet the same people go unpunished. I guess, for these people, the idea is to milk the country dry.
On Friday, Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, revealed his ministry had discovered that some government suppliers had been charging broiler chickens US$15 (P180) each yet the average price is US$6 (P72). Again, it’s sad that these scandalous people are only talked about in the press but never made to pay back the money.
LYMPHOEDEMA
Lymphoedema is a long-term (chronic) condition that causes swelling in the body’s tissues.
It can affect any part of the body, but usually develops in the arms or legs.
It develops when the lymphatic system does not work properly.
The lymphatic system is a network of channels and glands throughout the body that helps fight infection and remove excess fluid.
It’s important that lymphoedema is identified and treated as soon as possible.
If it is not treated, it can get worse.