Two brothers die after falling ill on trip to see mother; stepmother sought
Two brothers from Rusape died at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare after developing vomiting and severe stomach pains, in a suspected food-poisoning case that has left their family and school seeking answers about what happened on their journey to the capital.
Emmanuel Makarimai, 14, and his younger brother Tanaka, 12, were taken for treatment on Thursday, November 5. Their stepmother, Vimbai Mushana, is being sought for questioning over the circumstances surrounding their deaths. She was reportedly at the hospital before leaving, while the boys’ biological mother says she had been expecting the children in Mbare as they travelled from Rusape to visit her in Concession.
Loice Jose, 31, said she and Mushana had agreed by telephone that the boys would be brought to Mbare Musika, from where they were expected to continue to Concession. The plan was made the previous Tuesday. Jose waited at the bus terminus on Wednesday, but the children did not arrive.
“We agreed over the phone last Tuesday that Vimbai would bring the children from Rusape to Mbare, en route to Concession,” she said.
“On Wednesday, I waited for them at Mbare Musika, as we had agreed, but they did not arrive. On Thursday, I received a call from Parirenyatwa Police Post informing me that the children had been admitted to hospital and were vomiting. I went to the hospital to check on them. When I arrived, I learnt that Tanaka had died, while Emmanuel was fighting for his life. A few minutes later, Emmanuel died.”
The brothers were pupils at Mabvazuwa Primary School in Rusape. Emmanuel was in Grade Seven and had stopped attending lessons after completing his examinations. Tanaka, a Grade Five pupil, was last seen at school on Monday, according to headmaster Bennedict Dadaya. He did not return from Tuesday, and the school had not been told where he was or why he was absent.
Dadaya said the school later heard the boys had been staying with their stepmother and had travelled with her to Harare. His account, based on information reaching the school, describes a driver taking the children to Parirenyatwa after they became ill. The driver also completed the hospital paperwork, he said, after the stepmother had reportedly left.
“The elder brother was not attending school since he had finished writing examinations. The Grade Five pupil last reported to school on Monday. From Tuesday onwards he was absent and we had no information on why he was not attending and his whereabouts. I am told that they were staying with a step mother. I heard she took them to Harare. It is said they were given a lift by an individual. The children ate some ice cream and started vomiting and complaining of severe stomach aches. The driver rushed the mother and the children to Parirenyatwa Hospital. Whilst at the hospital it is said the mother disappeared before they were admitted. The driver is the one who did the paper work for the children to be attended. We are so saddened as a school to lose such young souls. We are devastated,” said Dadaya.
The accounts from Jose and the school describe different parts of the journey. Jose said the children were meant to meet her in Mbare, but she was contacted by the police post after they were taken to hospital. Dadaya said staff heard the boys were staying with their stepmother, that they travelled to Harare and that a driver brought them for treatment. His account says the driver handled their admission after the stepmother left. The available information does not explain how the lift was arranged or the precise route taken before the hospital visit.
The school has been left grieving two pupils from the same family. Tanaka’s absence began after he was last seen on Monday, while Emmanuel had already finished his examinations. The headmaster said staff had no information about Tanaka’s whereabouts during the days he was away. They later learnt that both boys were in Harare and had been taken to hospital after developing symptoms.
The brothers’ father is reported to be living in Poland where he works as a truck driver. My Zimbabwe News is reliably informed that the father’s name is Victor Makarimai. Before relocating to Poland, he was working in South Africa where he was affectionately known as Boss Vickela or ‘Admin’.
“Every truck he was assigned to, from one company to the other, had a board labelled ‘Admin’, so here in South Africa we used to call him Admin,” one of his former workmates told My Zimbabwe News.
The boys’ mother, who travelled to Parirenyatwa after receiving the call, said she first learnt there that Tanaka had died. Emmanuel was still alive when she reached the hospital, but died a few minutes later. Her account places the two brothers’ deaths within a short period of one another at the same hospital.
The suspected food-poisoning case is one of two separate incidents involving children reported in the capital over the same week. Prospect Zvemarima, 9, of Dzivarasekwa Extension, died on Friday after developing stomach problems. His mother, Nancy Tembo, 32, said a neighbour had given him rice and a drink before he became ill.
“My son developed stomach problems, so we rushed him to hospital. One of our neighbours gave him some rice and a drink, and that is when it started,” Tembo said.
Tembo said the neighbour could not be located after the incident. Prospect’s body was awaiting a post-mortem examination at Parirenyatwa Hospital. No further information about the food or drink, the timing of his symptoms or the circumstances in which he received treatment was provided in the available account.
The Dzivarasekwa case is separate from the deaths of Emmanuel and Tanaka. The children lived in different areas and their reported circumstances differ: the brothers became ill during a journey from Rusape towards Harare and were taken to Parirenyatwa, while Prospect’s mother described him becoming unwell after receiving food and a drink from a neighbour. The reported accounts do not establish a connection between the incidents.
In the Rusape case, the school headmaster said the brothers had eaten ice cream before vomiting and complaining of severe stomach aches. Jose’s account focused on the planned handover in Mbare and the call from the hospital police post. Together, the accounts have brought the children’s final journey into focus, from Tanaka’s last day at school to the emergency hospital admission in Harare.
Mushana is being sought for questioning about what happened before the boys fell ill and during their trip to hospital. The driver’s identity and the arrangements for the lift have not been made public in the information available. The family and school are left mourning two young brothers, while the separate death of Prospect has added another grieving household to the week’s reports of suspected food poisoning.