BULAWAYO
–
A
man
posing
as
a
medical
doctor
was
arrested
at
Mpilo
Central
Hospital
in
Bulawayo
on
Tuesday
after
writing
a
bizarre
prescription
for
a
patient
containing
references
to
Lacto
and
several
fruits
including
apples
and
grapes.
Dressed
in
a
white
coat
and
a
stethoscope
around
his
neck,
Prosper
Mpofu,
29,
passed
himself
off
as
a
doctor
as
he
met
a
patient
at
the
hospital’s
Outpatients
Department.
The
patient
had
been
referred
to
him
by
a
friend
from
church.
A
Thabani
Ndlovu
narrated
how
a
church
mate
who
was
hired
by
the
doctor
connected
him
and
his
wife
to
Mpofu.
Ndlovu’s
wife
has
a
heart
problem.
On
Tuesday,
the
couple
visited
Mpilo
Hospital
hoping
to
get
some
assistance
from
what
they
genuinely
believed
was
a
qualified
doctor.
“…We
came
this
morning
looking
for
him,
but
he
was
not
around,
he
told
us
to
wait.
We
then
decided
to
join
the
queue
at
the
outpatient’s
department
so
that
when
he
arrives,
we
would
be
ready.
“We
managed
to
see
the
doctor
that
was
in
the
rooms,
and
when
we
were
done,
he
called
us
to
tell
us
he
was
at
the
hospital.
He
took
us
to
one
of
the
rooms
that
is
when
we
saw
hospital
authorities
now
surrounding
us,”
he
said.
Copies
of
the
bizarre
prescriptions
issued
by
Mpofu
circulated
on
social
media.
They
contained
numerous
errors,
including
incorrect
dosages
and
misspelt
drug
names.
Bulawayo
police
spokesperson,
Inspector
Abednico
Ncube
confirmed
Mpofu’s
arrest.
Mpofu
once
appeared
in
court
in
2022
charged
with
assault.
He
told
police
then
that
he
was
a
year
5
medical
student.
His
case
is
the
latest
in
a
growing
incidence
of
fake
doctors
targeting
Zimbabwe’s
major
hospital
where
vulnerable
patients
have
creamed
of
their
hard-earned
money.