A 40-year-old Chipinge woman was last Wednesday reportedly trampled to death by a herd of elephants believed to have strayed from Gonarezhou National Park.
Report by Obey Manayiti, Staff Reporter
Police in Manicaland identified the deceased as Janet Chimene of Mahohona village in Chief Mahenye, adding the incident occurred after the woman had gone out to fetch thatching grass near her homestead.
Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Enock Chishiri said: “Chimene failed to return home the same day and the following morning his son Misheck Kumbani (18) went to inform his paternal grandfather that his mother was missing.
“The two embarked on a search and they noticed some heaped thatching grass on the other side of the hill. They proceeded to check and that is when they noticed elephant spoors. They followed the spoors up the hill and saw Chimene’s lifeless body lying within crowded elephants spoors.”
The pair then retrieved the body and reported the matter to the police. Several villagers in the wildlife-infested area have fallen prey to wild animals.
