Ten pupils struck by lightning in Gwanda, two died on the stop

TWO pupils died on the spot while eight others were admitted to hospital after being struck by lightning in Gwanda district, bringing to four the number of pupils who have died from lightning in eight days in Matabeleland South Province.

The death of the four pupils has left communities in the province shell-shocked and convinced "something is wrong and the gods are angry".

Two girls, Litrece Dube (17) and Priscilla Sebata (16), who were doing Form Four and Form Three respectively at Ntalale Secondary School in Ntalale area under Chief Mathe died on the spot while about eight others were left unconscious before being rushed to Gwanda Provincial Hospital.

Litrece lived in Mawaza in Ward 12 while Priscilla lived in Tshongwe B in Ward 11.

The incident, which has left a dark cloud hanging over the district, even in Gwanda Town where it is a major topic of discussion, occurred on Thursday afternoon.

It happened eight days after 38 pupils were struck by lightning in the same manner while at a playground at Ngwanyana Primary School in Mangwe district.

In Mangwe, two died on the spot while 20 were admitted to Plumtree District Hospital for injuries ranging from severe burns, headaches and painful eyes.

The eight pupils from Ntalale were discharged from hospital on Friday after it was confirmed they were affected by shock.

Litrece and Priscilla's bodies were buried at their homesteads at the same time on Friday late in the afternoon.

The Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (Zimta) visited the school and both girls' families and made cash donations of about $150 to each of them.

A member of staff at the school said tragedy fell on the school when they were preparing for a sports day the following day and pupils were fetching water from a borehole at the neighbouring primary school.

The lightning struck two acacia trees, one on each side of a path the pupils were walking on.

It did not rain in the area around the school in Ward 11 despite the tragic incident.

At the same time when lightning struck the girls, a heavy storm accompanied by thunder and lightning destroyed Litrece's parents' house, more than 10km west of the school in Ward 12.

The heavy storm blew off the whole roof of the three-roomed house and felled the back wall, but a 10-year-old boy who was in the house escaped unhurt.

There was no rainfall activity around Ntalale, Tshongwe, Vela and Nyambi areas in Ward 11 despite the tragic incident but there was a huge storm in areas around Mawaza and Mpopoma in Ward 12, which uprooted and destroyed trees and Litrece's family's house.

When Chronicle arrived at Litrece's homestead, villagers were busy repairing the house in solidarity with the family.

The seemingly distraught father, Mr Rainfirst Dube, said they just heard deafening thunder between 1pm and 2pm and as it started raining, they saw the house being blown away.
"The sky was clear when we heard a deafening thunder. I was talking to my wife saying how could we have thunder when there were no clouds," said Mr Ncube.

"When the roof was blown away in the middle of the thunderstorm, I just had a feeling that that was a bad sign. A 10-year-old boy was in the house and I ran to rescue him and after the rain as we were picking the debris from around, we saw Litrece's teachers and police who told us she had died."

Her mother Ms Oratile Nyathi said her daughter's death was painful.

Priscilla's mother, Ms Nqobizitha Ncube and father Mr Obert Sebata said they had lost a disciplined child and a friend.

"It is difficult to believe that I had to cook for her in the morning and saw her off to school only to learn that she has died. We are trying to come to terms with this and understand it is God's will. She was a good girl who was disciplined and had a bright future," said Ms Ncube.

The headman of Ntalale area, Mr James Sebata, said such an incident had never happened in the area.

"We are in deep shock because such a thing has never happened here. We are used to seeing lightning striking trees and not people.

"The community is shocked and feels that if it is somebody who is doing this, the person should not vent the anger on children but face the people they are at war with," he said.

Mr Sebata said elders in the community met on Friday before the burial of the two girls and cut down the acacia trees and heaped them so that they would be burnt after the rainy season.

He said they conducted traditional rituals and church prayers to cleanse the area.

"We cut the trees but we cannot burn them now. Maybe the pupils were passing by and met the lightning as it struck this tree on its way to the other one across the road. They could have died because they were caught in between, which is why others were only shocked because they had either passed by or were behind," said Mr Sebata.

The Zimta delegation included the provincial executive officer, Mr Dumisani Ndlovu, provincial chairperson Mr Akuneni Maphosa, treasurer Mr Charles Mthombeni and Mr Andrew Siduli, the provincial officer.

Mr Maphosa said the visit and donation were part of the association's social corporate responsibility.

"Zimta started a Retired and Bereaved Fund in 2002 where members make contributions and we use the funds to assist those who retire from service in the form of payouts. Within this there is the Safety Led Fund, with which we cover disasters as this one. Pupils do not contribute but we assist them from this fund," he said.

Mr Ndlovu said his organisation was touched by the events and was wondering what could be happening at schools.

"We were touched by this incident especially when we had a similar one last week in Mangwe District. We are actually in shock with what could be happening because we work with children and this affects us as well. We have an assistance programme in such situations which is why we are here," he said.