Burning tree kills woman

A Mvurwi woman died recently when a tree villagers had set on fire in an attempt to kill a snake fell on her, killing her instantly.

A witness, Kelvin Kunze, said the now-deceased, Loveness Muchadakuenda (33) of Vigira, was about to be attacked by a snake which later went up a tree near her hut after fellow farm workers came to her rescue.

At about 3pm on the fateful day, Muchadakuenda and other villagers set the tree on fire to scare away the snake, suspected to be a black mamba, which the witness said was a common sight in the farming community that lives under the foot of a mountain.

"The snake wanted to attack her and she was rescued by the other villagers," Kunze said.

"They attacked the snake and it fled and went up a tree near the deceased's hut. This forced the deceased to set the tree ablaze to scare it away."

Kunze said the snake mysteriously disappeared and at around 8pm, the deceased decided to put out the fire.
"She went into her hut to get a bucket of water to put out the fire. Just as she came out, the tree unfortunately fell on her and she died instantly," he said.

Mashonaland Central acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Petros Maskati said he was yet to receive a report about the death.