PROMISING young Zengeza-based musician Joseph Maburutse, who was in his early 20s, had just started a family
with a fellow singer only for his epileptic condition to intervene and end his dream.
Blessed with a baby girl in 2004, the young couple had moved in together
when Maburutse began experiencing regular seizures, at times three times in a day.
This compelled his in-laws to force their daughter to abandon him and
the young mother eventually relented after her family threatened to disown her.
Maburutse was left to face a condition, that many know little about but
associate with evil spirits and witchcraft, without the love of his life,
when her presence and support could have played a huge part in enabling
him to deal with the condition. “Her family was unhappy with my condition and demanded that we part,” he
said during an interview. “I had become seriously ill and could suffer as many as three seizures
in a day and the doctors had advised me against working. We were both
singers, they were prepared to disown her so she remarried and has
another family.”
He eventually saw doctors who stabilised and referred him to the ESF
where he gets free medical assistance and information as he transformed
into an epilepsy champion, counselling and referring others with similar
conditions in local communities of Chitungwiza.
Maburutse was among people who recently gathered at the offices of the
Epilepsy Support Foundation (ESF) in Hatfield in the capital to mark
International Epilepsy Day, whose theme was “Love someone with Epilepsy,
Ida Munhu ane Epilepsy, Make epilepsy a health priority”.
The event came two years after Zimbabwe recognised epilepsy as a
disability through its National Disability Policy launched on 9 June
2021.The policy acknowledges epilepsy as an invisible disability,
ensuring people with the condition are included among persons with
disabilities supported by the Government through the Ministry of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare with the aim of enhancing their
health and well-being and that of their families.
Epilepsy is triggered by abnormal electrical discharge in the brain,
resulting in an involuntary change in body movement, function,
sensation, awareness and behaviour, making it one of the world-wide
major brain disorders that needs to be considered among priorities in
health care and social welfare systems.
Many on the day gave testimonies of how deep rooted stereotypes and
stigma wrecked their lives due to lack of adequate information and
education on the condition, estimated to affect about 10 million people
on the African continent.
Speaking at the event, Disability Board chairperson, Loveness Sibanda,
said even people with other forms of disability despised those with
epilepsy as they consider it to be contagious, a situation compounded by
some traditional leaders, healers and self-proclaimed prophets.
Sibanda exhorted the ESF to target these groups in spreading information
on epilepsy in the hope of eventually breaking the stereotype, stigma
and beliefs about the condition.
She also encouraged people with epilepsy, their relatives and guardians
to seek professional medical treatment as many were able to lead normal
lives with proper medication.
Kundai Marume, a champion in the fight against the stigma directed at
people with epilepsy, said her condition first manifested itself soon
after she got married.
Admitting to a short temper which she says is common among people with
epilepsy, Marume said her father was fined a beast by a local chief
after she attacked a "Tsikamutanda" (self proclaimed witch hunter) to
whom she had been taken for diagnosis.
“We visited many prophets and healers and the story was always the
same,” she said. “Even Magaya (Prophetic Healing and Deliverance
Ministries (PHD) founder Walter Magaya) I attacked him on March 27, 2016
for his prophesy. There is no corner of the country that I did not visit
and a lot of money was lost until I came to ESF, where I was saved. It
is not witchcraft, it is a form of illness. In fact, it is a disability.”
ESF acting board chairperson, Dr Billy Rigava, said epilepsy can be
managed with proper adequate medication, allowing people to actively
participate in socio-economic activities and contribute the economic
transformation of the country.
“Shortage of drugs results in patients suffering more seizures often,”
he said.
“It is a condition which is despised, which is unfortunate. We want
people to bring all those with epilepsy to the attention of the
foundation. Some children are barred from attending school for fear that
their condition might be contagious. There is suitable medication which
can help such people to live normal lives. Epilepsy is just a simple
disease which all can live with comfortably.”
ESF director, Dr Taurai Kadzviti, who has epilepsy but confesses to
living without suffering seizures because of proper medication, said one
of the biggest challenges in Zimbabwe and the continent that hinders
treatment or accessing health care is the misconception that epilepsy is
caused by evil spirits and requires the intervention of faith and
traditional healers.
He said the other challenge was the accessibility and availability of
epilepsy medication in most clinics, particularly in rural areas, where
a lot of people with the disease live.
Other challenges include shortage of qualified health professionals and
limited training for nurses, lack of medical equipment and little
advances in healthcare.
“Therefore, the ESF is engaging with the Government to ensure epilepsy
medications are locally manufactured and are subsidised,” he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 50 million people
have confirmed epilepsy and 70 percent are in middle to low income
countries while a survey that the Ministry of Health and Child Care conducted estimated that
two percent (nearly 400 000) of Zimbabweans have epilepsy.
However, Dr Kadzviti believes that figure is grossly under estimated as
some types of epilepsy are non-visible as opposed to the generalised
epilepsy where a person falls and jerks the whole body with froth and
sometimes blood coming from the mouth.
He estimates Zimbabweans suffering from epilepsy at about 10 percent of
the population.
New Ziana
