The Salvation Army officials had arrived at Howard Hospital to serve a fresh eviction notice to the chief doctor there. Chiweshe residents have been left raging by the attempts to evict Dr. Paul Thistle, who has been caught up in a worsening situation with the Salvation Army administrators.
The public protests on Thursday turned ugly when residents overturned the car the Salvation Army officials from Harare had arrived in. The group was then forced to flee the angry locals and seek refuge in the hospital.
Dr. Thistle, who has been unable to go to the hospital, has been at home while the facility runs on a skeleton staff that does not include another doctor. SW Radio Africa’s correspondent Simon Muchemwa said the hospital was temporarily closed on Thursday morning while all emergency cases are being transferred to Harare.
Muchemwa explained that the local residents have been left “very angry” because Dr. Thistle is now their only doctor, and he is also a very respected and loved part of the community. Dr. Thistle is a Canadian doctor who has spent more than sixteen years helping Zimbabweans, and has worked tirelessly in sourcing and providing the best care for the local people.
But according to Muchemwa, he has now run afoul of the Salvation Army after raising concerns that supplies and money he had sourced for the hospital never made it to the institution from the Head Office. Muchemwa explained that the officials are now intent on evicting the doctor and transferring him to ministerial duties somewhere else.
SW Radio Africa meanwhile has been told that the orders have been handed down by Vice President Joice Mujuru, who is a senior member of the Salvation Army, and that Dr. Thistle is caught in the middle of the worsening infighting in ZANU PF.
Mujuru and her main rival Emmerson Mnangagwa have intensified their war for the potential leadership of ZANU PF, a war that came to a head last month when the grassroots District Coordinating Committees (DCC) of the party were disbanded. This followed a highly contest DCC election that appeared to show Mnangagwa as a favourite.
It’s understood that Chiweshe is one of the areas where Mnangagwa has support and the local chief is said to be a Mnangagwa man. Speculation is now rife that Mujuru is attempting to control the area by exerting her authority on the Howard Hospital. SW Radio Africa
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