Ninkawa says guard is a thief

A war of words has ensued over Donnex Bulawayo, a guard, who was bitten by Ninkawa’s vicious dogs three weeks ago in Malawi’s commercial city of Blantyre.

The victim’s wife Janet Bulawayo is accusing Ninkawa of negligence while Ninkawa is accusing her husband of theft.

In a recent interview, Mrs Bulawayo said following the article by Nation on Sunday on September 9 2012 about her husband losing an ear in the dog attack, among other injuries, she went to Ninkawa to seek assistance after he was quoted as saying that no one went to him for the same.

Said Mrs Bulawayo: “I went and I was given K1 500 (about $5) on my first trip with an assurance that company representatives would come to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) to check on my husband. Nobody came. After a week I went back and was offered another K1 500 with a similar promise.

“I decided to revert to my frying chips business briefly to raise money to help our three-week hospital stay. I managed to raise about K20 000 (about $66) but all has been spent and we are lacking necessities, particularly milk as it is the only food he is feeding on”.

She went further to describe her husband’s condition as deteriorating with loss of coordination. She said he seems confused and in the night repeats conversations that were made earlier in the day. She said he sometimes rises from the hospital bed to flee and he has to be held to stop the “madness”.

Mrs Bulawayo further claimed that Ninkawa refused to submit veterinary papers for his dogs after doctors treating her husband insisted on seeing them to determine the right treatment for him, adding that he has been getting anti-rabies too.

A nurse, from the ward Bulawayo is admitted to, said no papers were submitted and that doctors are still looking for them. But Ninkawa yesterday handed over his phone to one of his employees Donald Mwenda who claimed all relevant papers were handed to the hospital on the first day Bulawayo was treated as it was a pre-condition for treatment.

Said Mwenda: “It is not an issue. I personally delivered the papers to doctors so our employee could be treated. It is surprising to me that we are being accused of refusing to release the documents. If they want, we can re-submit. I however do not remember the name of the doctor I submitted the papers to because I cannot identify all doctors at the hospital”.

Later, Ninkawa accused Bulawayo of theft and that he will be arrested when he gets better.

Said Ninkawa: “It is common sense. He worked for the first three days without being bitten and he was attacked on the fourth day. It is because he was stealing. I have more guards in police custody and Bulawayo connived with others to steal from me. There are better stories to write than this one”.

Private veterinarian Dr. Kholiwe Mkandawire said the confusion Bulawayo is experiencing is a result of the trauma he went through when he was attacked. She also insisted on doctors seeing the vet papers but said the likelihood of Bulawayo having rabies was low, although she did not rule it out.