By Flata Kavinga
At least 19 people were treated at Kwekwe General Hospital following violence that erupted during the abandoned Premier Soccer League match between Hardrock Football Club and Dynamos FC at Chahwanda Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking during a visit to the hospital by Kwekwe mayor Cllr Albert Zinhanga, Dr Bruce Mhondiwa said the hospital received a large number of injured supporters following the disturbances.
“It was a disaster indeed. People visited the hospital in large numbers. Some were chanting football slogans,” said Dr Mhondiwa.
He said medical staff faced difficulties controlling crowds accompanying the injured but confirmed that no deaths were recorded.
“We attended 16 to 19 patients, some of whom refused to be admitted in hospital. We attended to their wounds. Then we managed to admit about seven males and one female,” he said.
Dr Mhondiwa said one injured supporter declined admission because he intended to report for duty at cookout competitions despite suffering a fracture.
According to the doctor, seven patients were admitted to the male medical ward while one woman was admitted to the hospital’s private ward complaining of chest pains.
“She underwent X-rays and everything is okay. She has other conditions that we are examining,” he said.
He added that doctors reviewed the admitted patients during ward rounds on Monday, with several supporters from Harare requesting discharge after treatment.
“There is one patient who requires a plaster. We will attend to him and discharge him,” he said.
Dr Mhondiwa also revealed that the hospital treated several road traffic accident victims linked to the chaos after they reportedly left the stadium.
“We also admitted about seven traffic accident victims who had just left the stadium. They were in stable condition, mostly wounds. There were no fractures but soft tissue injuries,” he said.
Kwekwe mayor Cllr Zinhanga condemned the violence, describing the events as unfortunate.
“It’s quite unfortunate that this happened on a day that was supposed to be a family day. During soccer matches, we want families to watch sports while relaxing, but the opposite happened,” he said.
The mayor said the city was awaiting a report from the Premier Soccer League while police investigations were expected to continue.
“We are very strongly against the use of violence. We hope the police are going to do due diligence and arrest all the people that were seen breaking the laws,” said Zinhanga.
He praised the efforts of doctors and nurses at Kwekwe General Hospital for handling the emergency situation despite being overwhelmed by the number of injured supporters seeking medical attention.
