Staff ReporterThe MP for Harare West Joana Mamombe who has spent the last 46 days at Chikurubi Maximum Prison in Harare was admitted to a private hospital ( Parktown Hospital) on Wednesday after complaining of acute stomach pain.
The prison authorities that had previously given her pass to go and get treatment at a private hospital then decided to remove her from the hospital in the dead of the night Thursday and returned to Chikurubi Maximum Prison even as she was still receiving treatment.
Joanna Mamombe who is known to be one of the youngest Zimbawean members of parliament, representing Harare West has been incarcerated for over a month with fellow opposition activist Cecilia Chimbiri.
Mamombe and Chimbiri were arrested and charged with violating Covid-19 regulations after addressing a news conference in March calling for the release of fellow activist Makomborero Haruzivishe who is now serving a 14 months’ jail sentence for “resisting arrest and inciting public violence.”
The two have been denied bail several times by both the Magistrates’ Court and the High Court.
Mamombe was recorded on video on her hospital bed remonstrating with prison officers to leave her in hospital
However, the prison officers bundled her away in an ambulance on Thursday night and took her back to jail without clearance from doctors.
The main opposition party in Zimbabwe MDC Alliance, has spoken in condemnation of this and adding that Mamombe was set to see a specialist on Friday as she’s still in bad shape.
The MDC Alliance says this is part of concerted efforts by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to crackdown on its members ahead of elections in 2023.
MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti said Mamombe’s forced removal from hospital was “particularly sickening,” adding, “This regime is completely pathological. Joana, Netsai, and Cecilia have suffered enough.”