BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A 19-year-old herd boy was mauled to death by a crocodile at a dam in Hwange while taking a bath.
PLowani Shoko, councillor for Ward 18, said the incident happened at Deka Dam on Monday afternoon when the teen from Binga was herding his employer’s cattle.
“We heard about the incident at 3PM yesterday and the report that I got was that this young man was heading cattle in Hwange’s Deka Dam in the company of his friend,” Shoko said.”
“Due to high temperatures, he reportedly felt hot and decided to go and take a bath by the riverbank and that’s when a crocodile spotted and attacked him before dragging him to the river by his arm.
“His friend went to report to other villagers, but when they returned to the scene he had disappeared.
“The villagers searched for him for over five hours until they saw an area that had turned red because of blood.
“The crocodile was still holding on to him and by the time the villagers pulled him out of the jaws of the crocodile, he was already dead.
Shoko said the teen will be buried on Wednesday.
“Preparations are on-going, and his body will be brought tomorrow for burial,” he said.