All is not well in Mberengwa where an artisanal gold panner escaped death by a whisker after his stomach was ripped open by rival gold panners who wanted to retrieve a gold nugget he had swallowed.

According to the NewsDay, Batanai Mukorovoli found a gold nugget on the 30th of March, using a metal detector. Unfortunately, for him the other panners witnessed him finding the nugget, and wanted to grab it from him.

In a bid to save the nugget, Mukorovoli swallowed the nugget. Undeterred by this, the other panners allegedly drew knives and ripped open his stomach to retrieve the gold. At this point, Mukorovoli was saved by some other panners who intervened and reported the matter to the police. He was rushed to Mberengwa Clinic and transferred to UBH where he was later on operated on.

UBH spokesperson Nobuhle Thaka confirmed the relationship saying,

I can confirm that we have such a patient. He is receiving treatment at this institution. He underwent successful surgery on April 5 and his life is out of danger.

Doctors had to insert a pipe so that he removes waste through the stomach area until his whole system heals and a correctional surgery be conducted again so that he defecates normally. He has not been able to defecate from the time he was admitted here.