Lack of medical facilities blamed for Zulu's death

Published Jul 19, 2016

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THE one image that remains vivid in my memory is that of an exasperated Letshego Zulu running next to the bicycle stretcher carrying her husband, on a pitch-dark gravel road.

The one thing that irritates the hell out of me is how a beautiful young man, a supremely talented athlete, died because of a lack of medical facilities.

Six men pushed the bicycle for 32km to the gate of Kilimajaro National Park for close to four hours before they could find help for him.

The question is why does such an international organisation have zero medical facilities and no emergency evacuation plan?

A venue that hosts thousands of international and local mountaineers in Tanzania to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, should do much better.

Gugu had been unwell and received medical attention. His condition became complicated on Sunday evening.

A powerful shriek by Letshego echoed through the dormitories at the Kibu Camp at the foot of Kilimajaro after she discovered he was not breathing.

This is the venue where 42 climbers had gathered to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birthday and to raise funds to buy sanitary towels for poor girls.

Forty climbers – minus the Zulus – went up Kilimanjaro at midnight on Sunday.

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