The death of Dr. Mthabisi Nembaware has broken hearts across Zimbabwe and laid bare the deep rot in our public healthcare system. His passing is not just a personal loss—it is a national tragedy. A young, brilliant doctor died not from the injuries of a car crash alone, but from the failure of the very system he served.

Dr. Nembaware was involved in a road accident on his way from rural Hauna to Mutare. He sustained a traumatic brain injury and was rushed to Mutare Provincial Hospital. But like many hospitals across Zimbabwe, it was not equipped to save him. There was no Intensive Care Unit. No working ICU beds. No proper ambulance system. Not even a helicopter to airlift him to Harare. Even the airport landing lights didn’t work. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Everything that should have worked, failed.

And so we lost him. Not because the injury was untreatable, but because Zimbabwe’s healthcare system is in shambles. And no one in power seems to care.

This is the reality for millions of Zimbabweans. Hospitals have no drugs. No painkillers. No ventilators. No staff. The best doctors and nurses are leaving the country every month, running from poverty, poor working conditions, and a government that refuses to prioritise health.

Those who remain behind are overworked, underpaid, and forced to operate in impossible conditions. Meanwhile, the political elite spend millions of taxpayer dollars on luxury cars, private jets, and foreign trips. The health budget is a joke. The system is collapsing, but the politicians are thriving.

Dr. Nembaware’s case is a heartbreaking example. A private air ambulance was arranged by his family. But even that failed. The plane couldn’t land in Mutare because the airport lights were not working. Something as simple as working runway lights could have saved his life. But nothing in Zimbabwe works anymore—not even the basics.

This is not just a healthcare problem. It is a governance problem. It is a leadership failure of the highest order. Our leaders have run down hospitals, looted medical funds, and allowed corruption to choke every corner of the public sector. And they are still doing it with no shame.

Zimbabweans must not forget this tragedy. Dr. Nembaware gave his life to serve others. He worked in rural areas where very few doctors are willing to go. He was dedicated, passionate, and hopeful. But hope was not enough. The system he believed in—our system—let him down when he needed it most.

This death should be a turning point. It should ignite anger. It should fuel action. We cannot go on like this, where hospitals are death traps and doctors are forced to die in the very facilities they serve. We must demand answers. We must demand accountability. We must demand investment in health—not just lip service and slogans, but real action.

Zimbabwe does not lack money. It lacks priorities. The government can afford top-of-the-range cars, massive billboards, endless propaganda, and useless by-elections—but cannot afford a working ICU in one of the biggest cities in the country? That is criminal.

Let Dr. Nembaware’s death not be in vain. Let it be the final wake-up call. We must demand a complete overhaul of the healthcare system. Build ICU wards. Buy equipment. Train and pay medical staff. Fix ambulance systems. Restore confidence in public health.

Enough is enough. Zimbabweans deserve better. Dr. Nembaware deserved better.

And until we fix this broken system, none of us are safe. May he rest in peace. May his death shake a nation into action.