Severely burnt woman still to get assistance

court

Zesa Holdings is still to decide whether or not to assist a 27-year-old Harare woman who was severely burnt by live electricity cables

These cables were left unsecured by its workers at Queensway Shopping Centre in Hatfield, Harare, recently.

The woman is battling for her life at Parirenyatwa Hospital, where she has been admitted for almost a month, waiting for a skin grafting operation.

The live cables that were left uncovered for nearly a year were only sealed and the pit covered the day after the woman slipped and got seriously burnt.

Zesa Holdings public relations manager Mr Fullard Gwasira yesterday said he was not aware of the situation the woman was in.

"Investigations are in progress. We are not yet aware of the situation, but we are very sorry for the incident because we always value and want to protect human life," he said. He said the power utility was going to investigate allegations of negligence by its workers and find ways of assisting the victim.

"We are going to ascertain the events and will make sure we do what we can to assist the victim," Mr Gwasira said.

Ms Muringai was burnt while coming from an all night prayer vigil last month. Ms Muringai said she was about to undergo skin grafting.

"The doctor told me that I am due for skin grafting to cover my right leg which suffered the deepest burns," Ms Muringai said.

Her mother, Mrs Veronica Masunga, said the damage done to her daughter was very serious and permanent.

"Her whole body is seriously burnt, but the nurse said the greatest harm was to her right leg, because the burns are very deep," Mrs Masunga said. Ms Muringai told The Herald that she slipped into the trench after she thought that a car was following her.

"I saw a car following me, flashing and dimming lights and I panicked and fell into the trench," Ms Muringai said.

"I came into contact with live electric cables and all my body and clothes were up in flames," Ms Muringai said.

"I was fortunate to survive because after a short time, power went out and someone managed to rescue me," she added.

Mr Limbani Mairosi, a security officer, who rescued her, said he heard screams at the time the lights dimmed. "I heard someone screaming and then I saw a flame coming from that trench," said Mr Limbani.

"I then saw a woman in smoke, all her clothes burnt. I pulled her out when I saw that electricity was now down and she was driven to hospital afterwards," he added.

A resident confirmed to The Herald that the trench had been left open since the beginning of the year.

"The wires have been naked since January," said a petrol attendant who refused to be named. He said the cables were only covered a day after the incident.

A visit by The Herald to Parirenyatwa where Ms Muringai was admitted revealed that Zesa Holdings had not done anything to address the woman’s plight.