Five Months Without Power: Zimbabwe Mental Hospital Patients Face Growing Crisis, Health Watchdog Warns

By Southerton Business Times | Masvingo

For nearly five months, hundreds of patients at Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital in Masvingo have lived without electricity after lightning destroyed the institution's transformer a crisis that health advocates say highlights the fragile state of Zimbabwe's public healthcare system. Despite the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) installing a replacement transformer, power has still not been restored because a cable worth about US$10,000 has yet to be purchased, leaving one of Zimbabwe's largest specialist mental health institutions operating in darkness since 7 April 2026.

The prolonged outage has raised fears over patient welfare, staff safety and the quality of mental healthcare, with campaigners warning that unreliable electricity in hospitals threatens lives and undermines access to essential medical services.

The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) says the situation at Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital reflects a broader crisis affecting Zimbabwe's public hospitals, where ageing infrastructure, inadequate funding and unreliable utilities continue to disrupt healthcare delivery.

Speaking to The Midweek Watch, CWGH Executive Director Itai Rusike said prolonged electricity outages severely compromise the ability of health workers to provide quality care.

"The prolonged power cuts at health facilities affect the ability of health workers to diagnose, treat and manage conditions effectively," Rusike said.

He urged the Government to classify hospitals as critical infrastructure by connecting them to dedicated electricity lines that are protected from prolonged outages.

"Health facilities should be allocated dedicated electricity lines that are exempted from power cuts and disruptions. Theatres and laboratories need electricity to function properly and for staff to conduct tests."

Rusike warned that when public hospitals cannot provide essential services, many patients are forced to seek treatment from private healthcare providers, placing care beyond the reach of thousands of Zimbabweans.

"Patients may be forced to seek healthcare from the private sector, which may be too expensive for the majority of poor people who do not have private medical aid insurance cover," he added.

Reliable electricity is particularly critical in specialist psychiatric institutions, where patients often require continuous supervision, secure facilities and uninterrupted clinical services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dependable electricity is essential for operating diagnostic equipment, laboratories, refrigeration of medicines, emergency response systems and maintaining safe healthcare environments.

Without reliable power, hospitals face increased risks of delayed treatment, equipment failure and poorer patient outcomes. Health experts say the Ngomahuru crisis underscores the urgent need to strengthen Zimbabwe's health infrastructure as demand for mental health services continues to grow.

Rusike called on authorities to accelerate investment in solar power systems and other renewable energy solutions for public hospitals to reduce dependence on the national grid. He said renewable energy would provide a more resilient power supply, helping ensure uninterrupted healthcare services even during electricity disruptions. The outage at Ngomahuru comes as Zimbabwe's public health sector continues to face shortages of medicines, ageing infrastructure and constrained budgets, with health advocates warning that reliable electricity should be treated as a basic requirement rather than a luxury.

With a replacement transformer already in place, attention has now turned to sourcing the outstanding cable needed to reconnect the hospital to the electricity grid and restore full operations. For patients, caregivers and healthcare workers, every additional day without power prolongs uncertainty and highlights the challenges confronting Zimbabwe's mental health system.

Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital power outage