The Sunday News
IT takes a rigorous five-year programme for one to train as a medical doctor and some additional years of supervised practice and specialisation in dental surgeries for one to become a certified dentist.
One also has to acquire an accepted measure of experience before being awarded a certificate to venture into private practice but for a Mberengwa traditional dentist, Mr Piti Munyengetero it only required a bit of bravery and some form of passion for him to become the popular dentist he is today.
For him, there were neither theatre lectures nor any formal training prior to him becoming the dentist par-excellence he is today, at least in the eyes of Mberengwa villagers, where he has been operating for decades as a village dentist.
For the past 40 years, Mr Munyengetero’s homestead has become a “dental surgery” wdith some villagers now preferring him than visiting nearby Mnene Mission Hospital.
He removes teeth, heals oral infection albeit without any aesthetical prescription to stop the pain during the surgery.
The only stop pain concoction given to patients is petrol which he gives to his patients by dipping a cotton cloth into petrol which he says eases the pain.
To date, Mr Munyengetero claims to have assisted over 2 000 patients at an estimated rate of 100 per year.
He said he usually assists over 20 people a month and most of his patients were members of his Zion apostolic church where he is a self-proclaimed prophet.
According to Mr Munyengetero, he received the “dental” calling from God while he was a little boy and would have visions and dreams asking him to assist people and he then became a prophet.
He said the “Holy Spirit” guides him through the surgeries and none of his patients has ever encountered problems or after effects as a result of the operations.
Ironically, there are no dentists at Mnene Mission Hospital and Mberengwa District Hospital leaving Mberengwa villagers with the only option — Mr Munyengetero.
“I started in 1974 when a fellow church member approached me for assistance while grappling with a rotten tooth. I had seen some of the white doctors at Mnene Hospital perform the surgery and they had left some tools at my house. I then prayed to God and he told me I could do it and I successfully removed the tooth without any complications. I then worked with these doctors and they saw that I was performing the surgeries correctly and gave me more tools. This is how I started,” he said.
Mr Munyengetero is not only a dentist but also the community’s most trusted “mid-wife” who has helped hundreds and hundreds of women deliver and also issues birth records.
He was given the go ahead to issue birth records as part of Government’s efforts to reach out to churches especially Vapositori who were shunning hospitals for maternal care.
Since he started helping women to deliver, he has never encountered a maternal death or infant mortality.
“I also assist women particularly from my church deliver. I have welcomed many babies and I don’t even know the exact number of women I have helped deliver since 1974. All this is made possible by the Lord because I see these things spiritually and the Holy Spirit helps me to do all what I do. I believe Jesus Christ is the best doctor,” he said.
The community now has confidence in him and prefers to be assisted by him rather than going to hospital where they allege that they pay but do not get enough assistance. Mr Munyengetero’s services are for free.
Mrs Joiner Ncube said villagers were now shunning hospitals and clinics as they were getting better treatment at Mr Munyengetero’s homestead-cum-clinic.
“He (Mr Munyengetero) is our doctor and most people in this area have been assisted by him. We no longer go to clinics and hospitals because sometimes we do not get the drugs and the treatment that we expect. We also cannot afford to pay the medical bills at hospitals and clinics,” she said.
Mr Munyengetero is, however, not a registered medical practitioner and claims that the Holy Spirit guides him through the operations and all the medical procedures.
For one to be recognised as a professional dentist he or she should be registered by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe and Medical, Dental and Allied Professions Council. Moreso, it is illegal to perform the surgeries without being certified by the aforementioned governing boards.
