Doctor Acquitted in Shocking Fraud Case

Dr. Michael Mandaza, owner of Pacific 24 Hours Hospital in Mabvuku, Harare, has been acquitted of fraud charges after being accused of faking test results for two patients. The allegations were that Dr. Mandaza had misrepresented to the patients that he would take their blood samples to a registered medical laboratory for testing, but instead manufactured fictitious computer-generated results.

The State alleged that Dr. Mandaza had used a non-existent laboratory's letterhead and stamp to authenticate the fake results. However, during the trial, the court heard that the stamp was recovered from a public area accessible to all hospital staff members, and it was not assigned to a specific doctor.

The judge, Justice Hungwe, ruled that the State had failed to prove the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He noted that the State had not led sufficient evidence to link Dr. Mandaza to the alleged fake results and that the chain of custody of the seized documents was questionable.

The court also heard that the patients whose files were allegedly fake had not been shown the results in question, and one of them, Sandra Bed, testified that Dr. Mandaza had always discharged his duties professionally.

Dr. Mandaza claimed that the allegations were fabricated by disgruntled former employees who had raised false alarms to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).

The acquittal brings to an end a five-year ordeal for Dr. Mandaza, who faced the possibility of jail time, deregistration, and humiliation