I WENT to Marecha village in Bikita district, Masvingo Province recently where I had gone to bury my uncle who was robbed from us by what has been confirmed to be cholera.
He had complained of a running stomach after he had attended a funeral of one of his subjects; he was a village head. Â
We later received the news that he had succumbed to the disease and had died on the way to Silveira Mission Hospital which is several kilometers away. There is no transport service in the area and the car in which he died en route to the hospital had been hired from Masvingo which is at least 100km away. The process to get a car from Masvingo took more than eight hours whilst his life was ebbing.
When I went there for the funeral, I was shocked to hear that 10 deaths including my uncle’s had occurred during the week and all are suspected to have been caused by cholera. I am hereby asking for assistance from well-wishers and the authorities to nip this problem in the bud.
The authorities may need to pronounce our area a cholera zone so that appropriate measures are taken to combat it and also protect unsuspecting visitors into the area.
E Maundu,Harare.
