ZIMBABWEAN doctors are on strike demanding salaries of $5 million a month

BULAWAYO – The Zimbabwe government has called in its feared spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to intimidate striking doctors to return to work or face unspecified but “dire consequences”, authoritative sources told ZimOnline. 

The sources, who are senior officers in the police and the CIO, said while the government had every desire to end a strike that has paralysed state hospitals, its major concern however was that the opposition could seize on the doctors’ strike to ferment a general strike by workers that could easily turn into mass revolt against the government. 

Political tensions remain charged in Zimbabwe especially after the Morgan Tsvangirai-led opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party last week repeated threats to mount a “vigorous campaign” to block plans by President Robert Mugabe to extend by two more years his term which was due to end in 2008.

"Our superiors believe that there could be a hidden hand and agenda behind the strike that is why we have been deployed at the hospitals to get information about who initiated the strike and to push the doctors to call off the strike,” said a senior CIO agent, who declined to be named for professional reasons. 

Teams comprising CIO agents and undercover police have since last week deployed at major state hospitals in Bulawayo, Harare and other major centres, the sources said. 

The CIO on Wednesday refused to take questions on the matter saying it never discusses its work with the Press as a matter of policy. 

Deputy police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka would not specifically confirm or deny whether police and the CIO were on a mission to intimidate doctors back to work. 

But he insisted that it was routine for the police to monitor strikes because some politicians he did not name always wanted take advantage of such situations to destabilise the country. 

Mandipaka said: "The police are there (at hospitals) to gather evidence on what really is happening and there is nothing sinister about that. Remember there are usually some politicians who take advantage of such situations to try and de-stabilise the country and that is what we want to counter.” 

But doctors in Bulawayo said state security agents were not just monitoring the situation at hospitals but were stalking them, following them to their homes and threatening them with harm if they did not return to work.   

A doctor at Mpilo hospital in the city said: "They (CIO and police) came here on Tuesday morning and began harassing us, accusing us of working together with the MDC to try and incite people to rise against the government. They said our grievances would not be addressed if we did not return to work.” 

The doctor, who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, said the state security agents recorded the names, telephone numbers and physical addresses of doctors who were supposed to be on duty on the day but had not turned up because they were on strike. 

A doctor at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) said undercover police visited him last Thursday at his home in the city’s Entumbane suburb. 

“They told me that they knew where I live and that I would face dire consequences if I did not go back to work …. I am contemplating changing my residence because I no longer feel safe,” said the doctor, who also declined to be named. 

The Hospital Doctors Association that represents striking doctors said some of its members had reported that they were being harassed and threatened by state security agents. 

"I have heard of such threats against doctors, especially those based in Harare and Bulawayo, but that will not deter us,” association president Kudakwashe Nyamutukwa said. “This is not a political matter and we will not be bullied by anyone into throwing away the purpose of our struggle,” he added. 

Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, temporarily in charge of the health department, was not immediately available for comment on the matter.   

Conditions have deteriorated at state hospitals with scores of patients reportedly dying of diseases that could otherwise be treated since doctors downed tools last month. 

Nurses at various hospitals have since joined the strike leaving patients in the care of young student nurses.