News / Regional
2 metre boulder crumbles down Mount Jahunda in Gwanda
04 Feb 2014 at 22:25hrs | Views
A rock measuring about 2 metres in diameter and weighing approximately 500 kgs lost balance from the top of Jahunda Mountain popularly known as Spitzkop in Gwanda crumbling about 200 metres down the mountain.
The big rock which has always been a sore sight on top of the mountain came crumbling down the mountain at about 8 pm on Monday night. The rock rolled down the mountain missing several stands still under development up the hill at the new Spitzkop Township.
Residents say they first heard a loud noise from the top of the mountain sounding like a lighting strike. The loud bang was followed by a huge row of the rock crumbling down the mountain crushing every tree and other smaller rocks on its way down.
After missing over 10 developing houses on its way the rock finally came to a halt at a trench after a 200 metre downward slide. The rock came to a halt only a few metres before crushing into a near by half done church building.
Some residents of the small mining town are already throwing bones wondering what could have been the cause of the rock fall. Some residents claim that the rock fall is because the ancestral spirits of Gwanda are not happy with the residential stands that were developed on some old graves without consulting the people concerned.
One resident alluded the fall of the rock to angry ancestors of Gwanda for not being recognised by the community of Gwanda. "The ancestors are angry that Gwanda has completely forgotten about them. For example the township around Mount Jahunda is called Spitzkop an Afrikaans name at the expense of local names," said the resident.
In contrast Mr John Nyandoro who is a builder contracted to build one of the houses also narrowly missed by the rock said that the fall of the rock had nothing to do with any supernatural beliefs but just a geographical effect due to the heavy rains.
"The fall has nothing to do with any supernatural happenings but the heavy rains may have caused the softening of the ground where the rock was resulting in its fall," said Nyandoro.
Another resident Sidumisile Mpofu said that council must now seriously go back to the mountain and search for any more possible rock that may find their way down.
"We are now living in great in fear that maybe another rock will come crumbling down. We were only lucky that no one got injured but lives will be lost if another rock comes crumbling down."
The big rock which has always been a sore sight on top of the mountain came crumbling down the mountain at about 8 pm on Monday night. The rock rolled down the mountain missing several stands still under development up the hill at the new Spitzkop Township.
Residents say they first heard a loud noise from the top of the mountain sounding like a lighting strike. The loud bang was followed by a huge row of the rock crumbling down the mountain crushing every tree and other smaller rocks on its way down.
After missing over 10 developing houses on its way the rock finally came to a halt at a trench after a 200 metre downward slide. The rock came to a halt only a few metres before crushing into a near by half done church building.
Some residents of the small mining town are already throwing bones wondering what could have been the cause of the rock fall. Some residents claim that the rock fall is because the ancestral spirits of Gwanda are not happy with the residential stands that were developed on some old graves without consulting the people concerned.
One resident alluded the fall of the rock to angry ancestors of Gwanda for not being recognised by the community of Gwanda. "The ancestors are angry that Gwanda has completely forgotten about them. For example the township around Mount Jahunda is called Spitzkop an Afrikaans name at the expense of local names," said the resident.
In contrast Mr John Nyandoro who is a builder contracted to build one of the houses also narrowly missed by the rock said that the fall of the rock had nothing to do with any supernatural beliefs but just a geographical effect due to the heavy rains.
"The fall has nothing to do with any supernatural happenings but the heavy rains may have caused the softening of the ground where the rock was resulting in its fall," said Nyandoro.
Another resident Sidumisile Mpofu said that council must now seriously go back to the mountain and search for any more possible rock that may find their way down.
"We are now living in great in fear that maybe another rock will come crumbling down. We were only lucky that no one got injured but lives will be lost if another rock comes crumbling down."
Source - Byo24News
