Fake doctor who prescribed apples and grapes to patients at Mpilo Hospital has appeal thrown out as judge brands him a “very dangerous liar”

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi has dismissed an appeal by a Bulawayo man who masqueraded as a doctor at Mpilo Central Hospital and tried to have his prison sentences run concurrently.

Taurai Prosper Vanhuvaone, who used the alias Prosper Mpofu, was 29 at the time of the offences. He was convicted in 2025 of fraud, impersonating a medical professional and unlawfully prescribing medication.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison, with part of the term suspended on condition that he restitutes his victims. The suspension left an effective 42 months to serve.

Vanhuvaone appealed through Tinashe Runganga of Tanaka Law Chambers, instructed by Tanaka Muganyi, arguing that the sentences should run at the same time to reduce the effective term.

Sitting with Justice Bongani Ndlovu, Justice Mutevedzi dismissed the appeal and said the State had been lenient.

“The prosecutors were very lenient with the appellant. He was a lucky man. What he did is no different from practising law without qualification, duping desperate people in need of services,” he said.

He rejected the argument for concurrent sentences, saying there was no legal basis for it.

“There is no law stipulating such. That was a discretion of the court, and you don’t appeal against a discretion. These offences were not concurrent; they were committed over years,” he said.

Justice Mutevedzi said Vanhuvaone’s conduct posed a serious danger to the public, as he had spent years attending to patients and prescribing medication without any medical qualifications.

“He was lucky to get only 42 months. He had been going to that hospital for years, treating patients and prescribing medication. Imagine if it was you, going to the hospital and getting treated by somebody who may not even have an Ordinary Level,” he said.

The judge also criticised Vanhuvaone for lying about his qualifications during the trial.

The court heard that he first claimed to be a student at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), but a witness from NUST disputed this. He then said he was enrolled at a university in South Africa, which the court found did not exist. In another version of his defence, he cited a university called Medusa.

“We read and re-read that case record. The appellant admitted to the court that he had no qualifications,” Justice Mutevedzi said.

“I thoroughly looked for that university and I could not find it and that shows he is a liar. I have never heard of that university.”

“Such people are a danger to society. If he hadn’t been caught, how many more people would have fallen victim?”

The lower court heard that Vanhuvaone defrauded a nurse-aide student of US$1,600 after promising to facilitate her attachment at Mpilo, and that he issued a fake prescription containing unusual instructions involving lacto and fruits, including apples and grapes. The prescription raised suspicion among doctors and led to his exposure.

The court found that his conduct went beyond fraud and undermined public confidence in the medical services at Mpilo.

The dismissal means his effective 42-month prison term remains in place.

More: CITE, H-Metro