GOVERNMENT’S claims it has supported an injured rural nurse have been exposed after the nurse produced receipts and medical records proving she has been paying her medical bills for years.
Progress Muzuva, who sustained fractures on her spine and leg in 2018 while saving a newborn baby and her mother during a violent ambulance transfer, accused the Ministry of Health and Child Care of misleading the public to cover up years of neglect and bureaucratic failure.
Her ordeal, first revealed in a viral social media audio, occurred in an ambulance during a midnight transfer from Bikita Rural District Hospital to Silveira Mission Hospital, when the expectant mother suddenly became violent.
The nurse delivered the baby girl inside the moving ambulance while fending off repeated attacks from the mother, who at one point struck her with a bench.
She was holding the slippery newborn, whose umbilical cord had not yet been cut and the placenta in her hands to prevent the child from bleeding, even as she tried to shield herself from blows from the mother.
By the time the ambulance stopped, she had sustained lasting injuries that left her unable to walk normally.
Truth Diggers, the investigative unit of Alpha Media Holdings, went beyond the viral account — visiting the nurse for a face-to-face interview, tracking down the patient and her family, and meeting the now eight-year-old child she saved that night.
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What emerged is a story of extraordinary courage, a miraculous survival and deep neglect by the very health system she served.
A Health ministry Press statement on August 8, 2025, had painted a picture of comprehensive State support, including free medical care and timely benefits for Muzuva.
But Muzuva says she was deeply hurt the government saw it fit to issue a Press statement claiming she was on full State support at a time when she had appealed for public assistance.
This, she says, misled the public and turned potential well-wishers against her, with some accusing her of trying to profiteer from the situation
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care acknowledges the concerns raised by Ms. Progress Muzuva and reaffirms its commitment to treating her case with the seriousness, empathy and transparency it deserves,” the statement read.
“We recognise the impact of her injury sustained in the line of duty in 2018 and remain committed to ensuring that all matters are addressed in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and established procedures. As of January 21, 2020, Ms Muzuva was granted Government patient status, entitling her to free treatment in public health institutions. This status remains in effect to date.”
Muzuva says the government claims are false, detailing how she has repeatedly footed hospital bills, denied an audience with senior officials and left to survive on US$93 a month, while her retirement package remains unresolved.
She presented to Truth Diggers medical receipts as proof of payment made for medical expenses on the day before government made that statement.
“The Ministry indicated that they granted me Government patient status, which could be true on paper, but in practice, I have been footing my medical bills and did not get free treatment, even at Masvingo General Hospital. On August 7, 2025, a day before yesterday, I paid at Masvingo General Hospital a consultation fee of US$9 and US$20 for X-ray, proof of payment is attached to this statement and was shared with the issuer of the Ministry’s Press statement, Mr Mujiri.”
Muzuva said she went on social media to narrate her ordeal because she felt government had failed her.
She has knocked on the doors of several government officials who treated her badly, and at one point went to the Health minister’s office, but was denied an opportunity to see him.
Over the years, she has been using personal funds to cover all medical expenses. Muzuva said government has delayed processing her retirement package.
Despite this, the nurse says she has no vendetta against the family of the woman, Elizabeth Dunira, who injured her. The family, which lives in Kufakunesu village, ward 13, in Bikita district, offered to help her soon after her injury.
On one occasion, Dunira’s father-in-law, Augustine Gondo, offered to give Muzuva two beasts as compensation, but she could not accept, knowing the family already struggled to make ends meet.
Gondo said he learnt of the incident from the ambulance driver.
“The driver of the ambulance came to my house the morning after the incident,” he said.
“He had a swollen face because my daughter-in-law had punched him. He told me she had given birth, but that she had also injured the nurse.”
“I regret my poverty,” he added, his voice heavy with remorse. “If I had the means, I would have done everything possible to help the nurse recover. Every time I see my granddaughter, I am reminded of the nurse and the harm she suffered.”
Dunira, who was at the centre of the incident, expressed regret over the incident.
“I feel deeply sorry for what happened,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me. It was as if evil spirits took control. I never intended to hurt the nurse.”
Muzuva declined the family’s help, saying she could not demand payment for “national duty”.
“I was doing national service and I was overjoyed when I successfully delivered the baby,” she told Truth Diggers.
“The fact that the baby is still alive gives me joy. If I had been allowed to name her, I would have called her Minana. She was delivered under miraculous circumstances. I do not know why God would not come to my time of need, when I saved the baby wholeheartedly.”
Muzuva was determined to save the child despite the dangers posed by the mother, the dangers she had witnessed earlier in the ambulance.
The ambulance driver urged her to leave the struggling patient alone at the back, warning that her violence could injure her.
But she stood firm, refusing to abandon a woman on the brink of childbirth.
*This story was published under Truth Diggers, a journalism investigation unit under Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), publishers of NewsDay, Zim Independent, The Standard and Southern Eye. AMH also operates an online broadcasting channel, Heart & Soul TV.
