Mnangagwa Relives 2017 Gwanda Poisoning Incident
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the advanced medical equipment that he was exposed to in South Africa after he was airlifted to the neighbouring country following a poisoning incident in Gwanda in 2017 inspired his vision of a better health delivery system in Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa suddenly fell ill during a ZANU PF rally in Gwanda in 2017 before he was airlifted to Gweru and later to South Africa for treatment.
Speaking during an interactive meeting with the business community at a hotel in Kwekwe on Friday, Mnangagwa said:
Most of you would remember that in August 2017, I had an incident of poisoning in Gwanda and I was airlifted to Gweru.
General Chiwenga then came to pick me up, airlifting me to South Africa.
In South Africa, I was exposed to some expert medical attention and that’s when I made a decision that this kind of medical technology should also be there in Zimbabwe.
I had no idea then that they had decided to fire me back home.
Mnangagwa had opened the Midlands State University National Pathology and Diagnostic Centre in Gweru before he addressed the business meeting in Kwekwe.
He challenged Zimbabweans to work hard for the country’s economic recovery, saying people should not continue to cry because of the sanctions imposed on the country by Western countries. He added:
Of course, there are a sizeable number of people in the economy who are saboteurs, but if we work as a unit we will conquer them.
There might be some pain felt along the way, but we will get there. What is needed is to focus on the positives and forget about the minor challenges.
