By Edith Mugabe
Barely two weeks after a Kariba man was attacked and killed by a raging elephant, a woman died in yet another elephant attack in the resort town yesterday.
Sinai Mpofu (54) died while coming from a fishing expedition with colleagues yesterday in the afternoon.
The raging elephant ambushed and scattered Mpofu (pictured) and her two companions as they walked in the Chawara area after fishing in Lake Kariba.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZIMPARKS) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed the incident.
“We can confirm that there was an unfortunate incident which happened yesterday afternoon where a woman in her fifties was trampled to death. She was part of a group of women who were coming from fishing in Lake Kariba,” said Farawo, adding that the elephant had been since been tracked and killed.
An eyewitness to the incident said that she had watched from a distance when Mpofu was being attacked.
“I watched from a distance as the elephant attacked her after her colleagues had successfully escaped,” said the eyewitness.
In the other incident which happened on 29 August, 2024, 47-year-old Scotch Gawa Mpofu died after he was attacked by an elephant in the resort town’s suburb of Batonga.
Mashonaland West provincial police acting spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Effort Chapoto confirmed the death of Gawa, 2228 Batonga, Kariba. He was attacked by an elephant during the early hours of the day as he went back home after a night of drinking.
Kariba Residents Trust Chairperson Munyaradzi Jokonia appealed to ZIMPARKS to push for the finalisation of the Parks and Wildlife Management Amendment Bill to enable the compensation of victims and their families.
Among other things, the bill seeks to establish a fund to compensate those killed or maimed by wild animals, as well as to compensate victims for loss and damage wrought to their property by wild animals.
Government says at least 60 people were killed by elephants in Zimbabwe between January and late May 2022, compared with 72 overall of 2021.
