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Boy drowns in Magwegwe pit

News
A BOY from Magwegwe North in Bulawayo drowned on Saturday while swimming with friends in a pit that was left uncovered by sand poachers.

A BOY from Magwegwe North in Bulawayo drowned on Saturday while swimming with friends in a pit that was left uncovered by sand poachers.

Report by Pamela Mhlanga

The incident has sparked anger from residents who are now petitioning council to deal with the sand poachers who leave pits uncovered.

The deceased, a Grade Six pupil at Mkhithika Primary School in Cowdray Park in the city, was playing with 16 other boys in the flooded pit when he met his fate.

“The boy was competing with 16 other boys, some of whom stay at the nearby Pumula suburb,” said one eyewitness.

“The boys were challenging each other in a swimming competition in the deep pond when the boy drowned.

“He dared his competitors that he could manage to swim while carrying a small boy on his back.

“The act proved tough for him as he could not sustain the weight and drowned. The small boy who was on his back was pulled out by friends, but efforts to rescue the other one proved futile.” Members of the police’s sub-aqua unit were called and retrieved the body from the water.

Residents who witnessed the body being retrieved had no kind words for their councilor, Monica Lubimbi. They accused her of turning a deaf ear to their pleas to have the pits covered.

“We no longer want her as our councillor because she does not make any difference,” said one of the residents.

“It is as if she is not there. We have been telling her about these poachers who take sand from here to build houses in areas like Cowdray Park. These poachers have become a nuisance as we always hear trucks at night and sometimes during the day coming to collect the sand.

“Our children swim in these pits that have become flooded after the heavy rains.”

The residents also alleged that another person drowned last year in one of the nearby pits and a member of the neighbourhood committee was knocked down by a truck belonging to sand poachers in 2010.

“To add salt to the wound, the councillor was here for a few minutes before she rushed to a meeting with Zesa officials at Mkhithika Primary School in Cowdary Park,”said another resident.

“She could not even wait for the body to be retrieved. To her, Zesa is much more important than our children’s lives.”

Contacted for comment yesterday, Lubimbi refused to give her side of the story.

“This is a sensitive issue and I cannot just comment because protocol does not allow me to comment on such an issue,” she told NewsDay.