BULAWAYO
–
The
shocking
discovery
that
two
babies
were
switched
at
birth
at
Mpilo
Central
Hospital
in
Bulawayo
18
years
ago
has
opened
the
door
to
potentially
landmark
legal
battles,
with
top
lawyer
Advocate
Thabani
Mpofu
saying
the
families
and
children
involved
could
pursue
multiple
claims
against
the
hospital.
As
revealed
by
ZimLive
this
week,
two
families
—
one
from
Bulawayo
and
another
from
Shurugwi
—
recently
learned
through
DNA
tests
that
their
daughters,
born
on
May
13,
2007,
were
mistakenly
exchanged
at
birth.
The
truth
emerged
after
a
Bulawayo
man,
suspicious
that
his
youngest
daughter
did
not
resemble
her
siblings,
secretly
commissioned
a
DNA
test
that
revealed
she
was
not
his
biological
child.
His
wife,
adamant
she
had
never
been
unfaithful,
launched
her
own
investigation.
Only
two
girls
had
been
born
at
Mpilo
on
the
day
she
gave
birth,
and
her
dogged
enquiries
helped
her
eventually
trace
the
other
mother
through
social
media.
Further
DNA
tests
confirmed
the
unthinkable:
their
daughters
had
been
swapped
at
Mpilo
Hospital,
which
later
admitted
negligence,
citing
staff
shortages
and
system
failures
during
the
2007
economic
crisis.The
mix-up
has
devastated
both
families,
who
are
now
grappling
with
deep
emotional
turmoil,
cultural
differences
and
questions
of
identity.
The
“father”
of
the
child
raised
in
Shurugwi
died
without
knowing
the
truth.
The
second
family
lives
in
Bulawayo.
Lawyers
have
since
been
engaged
to
explore
possible
lawsuits
against
the
hospital,
the
biggest
referral
health
centre
in
south-western
Zimbabwe.
“Never
before
have
a
single
set
of
facts
opened
up
so
many
viable
causes
of
action,”
Advocate
Thabani
Mpofu
told
ZimLive
in
an
exclusive
interview.
According
to
him,
both
sets
of
parents
can
sue
Mpilo
Hospital
for
negligence
that
deprived
them
of
“the
comfort
and
integrity
of
family
life.”
“The
children
themselves
can
bring
claims
for
the
loss
of
familial
security,
for
psychological
injury
and
for
the
profound
disruption
to
their
personal
development,”
he
said.
“If
one
of
the
children
was
raised
in
harmful
or
unsuitable
conditions
they
can
also
claim
damages
for
the
injury
caused
by
that
exposure.
Equally,
there
are
likely
claims
flowing
from
being
compelled
to
live
under
false
identities
and
to
adopt
imposed
cultural
and
linguistic
practices.
These
claims
touch
on
dignity,
identity
and
constitutional
rights.”
Mpofu
said
such
suits
would
be
groundbreaking,
noting
that
while
precedent
is
limited,
Zimbabwean
courts
could
adapt
general
delictual
principles
to
accommodate
new
forms
of
harm.
“General
delictual
principles
[misdeed
or
offense]
can
be
adapted
to
support
novel
causes
of
action,
and
constitutional
remedies
may
supplement
common-law
claims.
The
law,
after
all,
is
a
living
instrument
and
must
evolve
to
meet
ever-changing
social
needs.”
The
main
challenge,
Mpofu
cautioned,
would
be
proving
and
quantifying
damages.
“Roman-Dutch
jurisprudence
has
traditionally
been
conservative
when
awarding
non-pecuniary
damages,
and
quantification
in
these
circumstances
will
be
difficult,”
he
opined.
“That
said,
the
law
does
not
consign
injured
parties
to
mere
conjecture.
Courts
have
discretion
to
make
principled,
impression-based
awards
where
necessary
to
vindicate
rights
and
compensate
real
harm.”
He
said
remedies
could
extend
beyond
compensation
to
include
measures
that
vindicate
dignity
and
deter
institutional
negligence.
“I
cannot
overstate
the
havoc
such
negligence
wreaks
on
young
lives
and
on
the
family
unit,”
he
added.
“A
measured
but
forceful
judicial
response,
one
that
recognises
the
scale
of
the
wrong
and
sets
a
clear
precedent,
is
essential.”
The
baby-swap
revelation
comes
as
Mpilo
Central
Hospital
battles
to
repair
its
image
following
a
string
of
scandals
—
including
the
admission
of
nursing
students
with
fake
O’
Level
certificates
and
the
exposure
of
a
bogus
doctor
who
treated
patients
and
stole
from
them.
Mpilo
Hospital
chief
medical
officer
Dr
Narcisius
Dzvanga
has
repeatedly
dodged
our
questions.
One
of
the
questions
was
whether
the
hospital
had
changed
processes
on
the
handling
of
newborn
babies,
and
if
he
can
guarantee
families
that
children
born
at
Mpilo
are
truly
theirs.
On
Wednesday,
Dr
Dvanga
said
he
would
respond
“during
working
hours
any
day
midweek.”
The
enquiry
had
been
sent
during
working
hours,
and
in
midweek.
On
Thursday,
Dr
Dzvanga
–
appointed
to
the
job
in
December
2022
after
a
stint
at
the
United
Bulawayo
Hospitals
–
said
he
had
“no
idea
on
the
timeline,”
adding:
“We
have
to
retrieve
the
records
first.”
Post
published
in:
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