BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Deep in the dry plains of Hwange-Mabale, villagers say life has become a daily battle for survival — not only against the long distances they walk to fetch water, but also against the wildlife that roams the same paths their children must use to reach school.

During a visit by VicFallsLive, Chief Nelukoba- Dingani of Mabale painted a dire picture of a community caught between environmental hardship and the realities of living inside a wildlife corridor.

“We have no water up to Gwayi — we are suffering.”

Standing beside a recently drilled, but completely dry borehole shaft at his homestead, Chief Nelukoba said the area’s water table has drastically dropped, leaving families without reliable access to drinking water.

“We have tried drilling many times. The latest borehole went down almost 100 metres — still, nothing,” he said.

“People here are suffering. To get water, some walk more than five kilometres every day.”

The chief said several homesteads have abandoned shallow wells that dried up as temperatures soared and rainfall patterns shifted.

The water crisis is compounded by the fact that the community sits directly along a wildlife corridor used by elephants, lions and hyenas moving between protected areas.

Behind some homesteads, fresh elephant dung and large footprints are a daily reminder of how close danger is.

“These animals are always here,” said Chief Nelukoba. “Elephants are killing people, hyenas are killing livestock, and lions are hunting in our villages.”

He recalled a particularly devastating attack at his own homestead.

“In one night, I lost eight cattle and 16 goats. They were all taken from the kraal. This is what my people face often.”

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the chief’s concerns is the danger faced by school-going children.

Learners from the area walk between 5 and 10 kilometres to reach Nabushome High School.

“Children meet lions on the way. Sometimes they have to run back home,” he said.

“How can they learn in fear? How can they grow when they are not safe?”

“Conservation must benefit the people living with wildlife.”

Chief Nelukoba stressed that communities bearing the burden of wildlife presence should also receive the most support.

He urged conservation authorities and organisations to prioritise basic needs such as water, safe routes to school, and security for villagers and livestock.

“We support conservation. But conservation must also support us,” he said.

“We need water sources. We need protection from these animals. Rural people living with wildlife must not be forgotten.”

For Chief Nelukoba, the message is simple but urgent:

“Let conservation policies bring safety and dignity to our people.”

BY STAFF REPORTER

A 39-year-old man from Musuna area has been sentenced to an effective 19 years in prison after the Hwange Regional Court found him guilty of indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault against his 36-year-old cousin-in-law.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) , the offender targeted the woman on two separate nights at her homestead in Breamland Gardens, subjecting her to a series of disturbing assaults while she slept under her mosquito net.

The first attack occurred on 31 August 2025 at around 10PM. Prosecutors said the man crept into the complainant’s mosquito net while she was sleeping facing downwards, hugged her from behind, and began touching her inappropriately. She woke up and confronted him, prompting him to flee — but not before bizarrely offering her “sugar beans” as payment for her silence.

Although the complainant informed her husband, he initially begged her not to report the matter in an attempt to protect his younger brother.

Two days later, on 2 September at around 11PM, the offender returned. This time, he again slipped under the mosquito net and molested the woman, forcibly groping her and inserting his finger into her private parts. When he discovered that the complainant was menstruating, he stopped and pleaded for forgiveness, offering beans once again and urging her to sweep away his footprints to erase evidence of his presence.

After the second attack, the survivor refused to remain silent and reported the matter to the police, leading to the offender’s arrest and prosecution.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for indecent assault and 18 years for aggravated indecent assault.

In a statement, the NPA warned that the justice system will not be lenient with sexual offenders, stressing that “the sanctity of a woman’s body and the safety of her home must be respected. Family ties should never be used as a shield to silence victims of abuse.”

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 43-year-old Tsholotsho man, Ezekiel Ndlovu, has been convicted on two counts of threatening violence and one count of assault after a series of violent incidents at a local homestead earlier this month.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority, the offences occurred on the 10th 10 and 15 November, at Soluswe line. During a misunderstanding while socializing, Ndlovu reportedly threatened to kill a male victim using an axe. Five days later, he allegedly returned to the same homestead and again issued threats — this time targeting the owner of the property.

In a separate incident at the same gathering, Ndlovu struck another man on the left leg with an iron bar, causing bodily harm.

He was sentenced to 12 months in jail after being convicted at the Tsholotsho Magistrates’ Court.