Sante 24 Hospital Under Fire After Amputated Leg Is Found at Chitungwiza Dump

A disturbing medical-waste scandal involving Sante 24 Hospital has raised serious questions about the private facility’s handling of human remains and the adequacy of controls meant to protect the public and the environment.

An amputated human leg was allegedly dumped at a rubbish site in Chitungwiza alongside used syringes, gloves and other medical waste, in a failure that appears to have exposed a breakdown in the hospital’s waste-disposal procedures.

The leg was discovered last week by a woman scavenging for recyclable plastics. It had reportedly been partially burnt and wrapped in bandages before being abandoned at the site.

The discovery has since triggered a police investigation and scrutiny of how a human body part could leave a private hospital’s controlled medical-waste system and end up among ordinary rubbish.

Police investigations established that the leg belonged to a 71-year-old man who had undergone an amputation below the knee after developing a diabetic foot ulcer. The procedure is believed to have been carried out at Sante 24 Hospital in August.

According to police, the hospital’s waste container containing the amputated limb was mistakenly included among 29 bins handed over to waste collector Rajiv Makaza for disposal on September 6, 2026.

That explanation has done little to ease concerns over the incident. The alleged mistake points to serious weaknesses in the hospital’s waste-management chain, including the identification, segregation and tracking of hazardous medical waste.

Human remains and clinical waste cannot be treated like ordinary household refuse. They require secure handling and disposal through systems designed to prevent exposure, contamination and public-health risks. The presence of syringes and other medical materials at the same dumping site has further deepened concerns about the extent of the alleged failure.

For residents and waste pickers operating at the site, the consequences could have been severe. People searching through rubbish may be exposed to contaminated sharps, bodily fluids and infectious material, often without protective clothing or knowledge of the risks involved.

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza confirmed that the amputated limb is being held at the Chitungwiza Central Hospital Mortuary while investigations continue.

“Investigations are underway. The hospital will be charged for contravening Section 70(1), as read with Section 70(5) of the Environmental Management Act, Chapter 20:27, for unlawfully discharging, disposing of, causing or permitting the disposal of health-care waste in a manner that causes, or is likely to cause, pollution to the environment and ill health to persons,” Chakanza said.

The case raises a broader question: how many other medical-waste disposal failures go undetected because they do not result in such a shocking discovery?

Sante 24 Hospital now faces the responsibility of explaining how the container was cleared for disposal, what checks were performed before the 29 bins left the facility, and whether the hospital had a reliable system for recording and tracing amputated body parts.

Until those questions are answered, the incident will remain more than an unfortunate administrative error. It represents an alarming apparent lapse in institutional care—one that placed human remains, hazardous waste and the wider public in the same uncontrolled dumping environment.

The hospital has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.