DNA Tests Reveal Mpilo Hospital Baby Swap

DNA tests confirm a baby swap at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo (image source)

DNA tests have confirmed that two girls born at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo on May 13, 2007, were swapped at birth, devastating two Zimbabwean families and reigniting questions about systemic failures at one of the country’s largest referral hospitals.

A Bulawayo father uncovered the swap after noticing his daughter’s features diverged sharply from those of her older sisters. He commissioned a private DNA test in 2024, which confirmed she was not his biological child — plunging his marriage into crisis after he accused his wife of infidelity, an allegation she vehemently denied.

According to a family member, the girl’s mother returned to Mpilo Hospital and learned that only two girls were born on that date. She began her own inquiry and, in 2023, tracked down the other mother via social media. When the women met and performed DNA tests, they confirmed the infants had been exchanged.

The hospital has since admitted negligence, saying identification tags likely fell off and were replaced incorrectly. “Back in 2007, Zimbabwe faced a deep economic crisis, severe staff shortages and collapsed hospital systems,” the source added.

Mpilo’s chief medical officer, Dr. Narcisius Dzvanga, said he needed more time to address detailed questions. The families say the hospital has provided no psychological or practical support following the traumatic revelation. “The least they could have done was deploy psychologists to help,” a family source said.

Tragically, the father of the girl raised in Shurugwi died before learning the truth. The Bulawayo family has offered financial support to both young women, while the Shurugwi mother, now living in South Africa, continues to weigh her options. Efforts to foster bonds have been complicated by cultural and linguistic differences between the Shona- and Ndebele-speaking households.

Both families have engaged lawyers and are exploring gross negligence suits against Mpilo Hospital. This scandal follows a January incident at United Bulawayo Hospitals, where a Cowdray Park mother who delivered a son by Caesarean section received a daughter and only learned of the switch through DNA testing, leading police to intervene.

South African scholars cite a 2014 North Gauteng High Court ruling that emphasised children swapped at birth should remain with the families who raised them, prioritising emotional bonds over biological ties.

As scrutiny intensifies, Mpilo investigations have uncovered nursing recruitment fraud involving forged O’Level certificates and a 29-year-old imposter doctor, Taurayi Vanhuvaone, who prescribed treatments before authorities exposed his ruse.