Parirenyatwa Hospital missing foetus case under police probe after family demands DNA test

Parirenyatwa Hospital missing foetus case under police probe after family demands DNA test

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Police are investigating a reported missing foetus case involving Parirenyatwa Maternity Hospital after a bereaved husband said he was asked to collect a toddler’s body weeks after being told the baby had died in the womb.

Tawanda Sengu (34), of Eastview, told reporters he refused to accept the body he says hospital staff instructed him to take, arguing there were unanswered questions following the death of his pregnant wife, Lizzy Katsiga, who died during an operation at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

According to Sengu, Katsiga started experiencing labour pains and was taken to a clinic in Mabvuku before being referred to Parirenyatwa Maternity Hospital on 5 May, where she was admitted. He said that the following day he was informed by a doctor that Katsiga had lost a lot of blood during the operation and had died.

Sengu further alleged that the same doctor, accompanied by three nurses, told him the baby had died in the womb three days before Katsiga’s death. He said the family collected Katsiga’s body the next day, but were allegedly not advised on the whereabouts of the baby’s remains, which he said raised suspicion within the family.

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Sengu said Katsiga was buried at their rural home in Mutoko on 28 May. He claimed that, while still at the gravesite, he received a call from another doctor who asked whether he had been shown the body of the toddler, and later advised him to come to the hospital to collect the remains.

“We refused to accept the baby the authorities wanted to give us. We collected the body of Lizzy without an explanation on the whereabouts of the baby,” Sengu said. “They phoned on May 28 saying they had located the baby. On June 9, this was the day we failed to agree about the baby they wanted us to take. We want DNA tests to prove that the baby is mine. We are so angry about this and we have taken our case to the police.”

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza confirmed the matter, saying police had opened investigations into a missing foetus case at a local hospital.

“Police are investigating a missing foetus case at a local hospital. The bereaved family claimed that hospital authorities failed to surrender the foetus on the same day following the death of the expecting mother,” Insp Chakanza said.

No comment could be obtained from Parirenyatwa Hospital authorities. Katsiga is survived by her husband and three children.

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