Doctors and nurses in large numbers marched in Zimbabwe’s Harare on Monday to protest against the alleged kidnapping of the leader of their association, reported Reuters.
According to the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), its acting President Peter Magombeyi has been missing since Saturday night. His last WhatsApp message said that he had been “kidnapped by three men.” He has not been seen since.
The protesting doctors and nurses said they would not return to work until Mr. Magombeyi was found.
Some chanted “No Peter, no work” and held placards reading “Bring Peter back”.
While the protesters had planned to march to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office, they were stopped from doing so by the security forces. Only a few of the group’s leaders were allowed through the barricade so they could present a petition to the president demanding action to find Mr. Magombeyi and improve working conditions.
“Dr. Peter Magombeyi’s whereabouts remain unknown, and we are seriously concerned about this. We, therefore, demand his unconditional return to his family,” the petition read.
The doctor’s association alleged that he was abducted by the security services in an attempt to break the strike, which has disrupted healthcare services in hospitals. Mr. Magombeyi had organized a series of strikes over poor pay and working conditions in recent weeks. Notably, doctors are paid less than $200 per month in Zimbabwe.
A senior information ministry official denied the government was responsible for the ZHDA president’s kidnapping.
Nick Mangwana, a government spokesman, said the administration had no reason to abduct Zimbabweans.
“Acts of terror are ultimately threats to the security of the state,” the spokesman wrote on Twitter. “There is no rhyme nor reason for the state to undermine itself.”
President Mnangagwa, who was elected after Mugabe was ousted in 2017, has been under pressure to deliver on promises of more investment, jobs, and salary increases to public sector workers.
