When a ZANU PF minister publicly admits that Zimbabwe’s hospitals are a disgrace, you know things are worse than they have ever been. For years we have shouted about the rot in the public health system. For years we have marched, written, protested and begged for action. And for years, ZANU PF has called us liars and enemies. But now, one of their own has finally said the truth we have been screaming all along. The hospitals in Zimbabwe are not just broken. They are deadly. They are graveyards with walls.
Tino Machakaire, the Minister of Youth, recently visited a public hospital to see a relative. What he saw shook him to the core. No proper care. No clean environment. Patients lying on the floor like animals. Beds missing. Medicine unavailable. Health workers overworked and clearly defeated. This is not a temporary crisis. This is the daily horror show that millions of Zimbabweans endure just to stay alive. This is the collapse of what should be a basic human right.
After that visit, Machakaire did something rare for a ZANU PF leader. He admitted the truth. He said the situation broke his heart. He said he now understands the pain people go through. He said the cries from the citizens are not lies. They are real. They are loud. And they should be listened to.
Machakaire even begged Mnangagwa to leave his motorcades and state dinners for a moment and go see the hospitals with his own eyes. He asked him to go without notice. No stage-managed tours. No cleaned-up wards for the cameras. Just go and witness the suffering of the people you claim to lead. If this was genuine, then we welcome his honesty. But we have seen this movie before.
This is the same government that has watched mothers give birth on concrete floors with no doctors around. The same regime that ignored the cries of nurses and doctors during endless strikes. The same ZANU PF that built shiny clinics with no staff and no supplies just so they could cut ribbons on national TV. For years, we have been mocked, threatened and beaten for saying exactly what Machakaire has now said. Suddenly we are told those of us who speak out are not enemies but brave people who care. How convenient.
But here’s the thing. We are not looking for applause. We are not looking for praise from ministers. We want working hospitals. We want medicine. We want dignity. We want our leaders to stop stealing and start serving. We want an end to the empty speeches and useless promises. We want a health system that works for the poor, not just the rich. Because while ministers fly to South Africa for check-ups, the people they lead are dying from curable diseases.
Zimbabwe is not poor. Our leaders are just greedy. They loot, they lie and they live like kings while the rest of us are left to rot. Tino Machakaire has now seen what the rest of us already know. The question is what he will do with that knowledge. Will he fight for real change or will he keep quiet the moment the attention dies down?
One thing is certain. Zimbabweans are tired. We are angry. We have buried enough of our people. We are not waiting for ministers to find their conscience. We will keep demanding change. We will keep exposing the lies. We will keep fighting. Because we know what we deserve. And it is not this nightmare.
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