GOVERNMENT has sent a condolence message to a Zimbabwe-based Italian family following the fatal shooting of two of its members in Mana Pools on Monday, after they were mistaken for poachers.
BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
Claudio Chiarelli and his son, Max, were shot dead after a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority ranger mistakenly thought they were poachers, killing them instantly.
In a statement yesterday, Information minister Christopher Mushohwe said government regretted the incident that claimed the lives of the two long-time hunters and members of the Zambezi Wildlife Society.
“Government expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the late departed, and to the Italian government which has lost two of its nationals on our soil.
“The Zimbabwean people in general had accepted the two as part of our conservation chores on a voluntary basis,” he said.
Mushohwe said the government would institute full investigations into the incident, adding that they would “continue to intensify operations to protect the country’s fauna as a lasting tribute to the two great men, who had put in 20 years of diligent work towards the protection of our wildlife”.
