News / Regional
Elephants tramples woman to death
11 Aug 2015 at 07:06hrs | Views
A HERD of elephants trampled to death a suspected mentally challenged Bulilima woman while on her way home in the company of her nine-year-old son at night.
Minyile Moyo, 43, of Ndolwane area under Chief Masendu's area, was about 100 metres away from her homestead when she was attacked by the herd a fortnight ago around 7PM.
Her son managed to escape and fled to their homestead.
Villagers who rushed to the scene found Moyo already dead, buried beneath a tree branch.
The elephants, which were in pursuit of water, are suspected to have been lured into the community by a well in the area.
Chief Masendu said Moyo was buried at her homestead on Saturday.
The councillor for Ndolwane area, Clr Matiwaza, who is also a neighbour to Moyo, said the elephants attacked the woman while she was on her way home. He said the number of the elephants could not be ascertained.
"Moyo was approaching her home when she was attacked by the elephants. I last saw her at the shops around 6PM and she was attacked an hour later.
"It appears that the elephants were searching for water because on the previous day they were spotted close to a homestead which has a well but the villagers drove them away," he said.
Clr Matiwaza said villagers heard screams from Moyo as she was being attacked by the elephants.
He said the villagers managed to scare the elephants away by making noise but it was already too late to save the woman.
Clr Matiwaza said they suspected the elephants could have tossed Moyo around and trampled her in the process.
He said elephants have always been a menace to villagers for several years but rarely did they kill anyone.
"Villagers are now living in fear because these elephants are now moving around homesteads. They keep moving further inside in search of food and water," said Clr Matiwaza.
The District Administrator for Bulilima, Ethel Moyo, said the local leadership had since launched a hunt for the elephants.
She said elephants have been recently spotted in several wards within the district.
Moyo said the elephants were coming from Mabhongwane Game Park.
"A search is under way. Officers from the Department of National Parks and council game scouts are on the ground and they're tracking the elephants so that they can be driven back to the park. Elephants have always been a problem in some parts of Bulilima. It's sad that they've killed a person," said Moyo.
She said the local authority had donated a coffin and food stuffs to the bereaved family.
Minyile Moyo, 43, of Ndolwane area under Chief Masendu's area, was about 100 metres away from her homestead when she was attacked by the herd a fortnight ago around 7PM.
Her son managed to escape and fled to their homestead.
Villagers who rushed to the scene found Moyo already dead, buried beneath a tree branch.
The elephants, which were in pursuit of water, are suspected to have been lured into the community by a well in the area.
Chief Masendu said Moyo was buried at her homestead on Saturday.
The councillor for Ndolwane area, Clr Matiwaza, who is also a neighbour to Moyo, said the elephants attacked the woman while she was on her way home. He said the number of the elephants could not be ascertained.
"Moyo was approaching her home when she was attacked by the elephants. I last saw her at the shops around 6PM and she was attacked an hour later.
"It appears that the elephants were searching for water because on the previous day they were spotted close to a homestead which has a well but the villagers drove them away," he said.
Clr Matiwaza said villagers heard screams from Moyo as she was being attacked by the elephants.
He said the villagers managed to scare the elephants away by making noise but it was already too late to save the woman.
Clr Matiwaza said they suspected the elephants could have tossed Moyo around and trampled her in the process.
He said elephants have always been a menace to villagers for several years but rarely did they kill anyone.
"Villagers are now living in fear because these elephants are now moving around homesteads. They keep moving further inside in search of food and water," said Clr Matiwaza.
The District Administrator for Bulilima, Ethel Moyo, said the local leadership had since launched a hunt for the elephants.
She said elephants have been recently spotted in several wards within the district.
Moyo said the elephants were coming from Mabhongwane Game Park.
"A search is under way. Officers from the Department of National Parks and council game scouts are on the ground and they're tracking the elephants so that they can be driven back to the park. Elephants have always been a problem in some parts of Bulilima. It's sad that they've killed a person," said Moyo.
She said the local authority had donated a coffin and food stuffs to the bereaved family.
Source - chronicle
