National

Hwange storm: MP appeal for support to reconstruct school, clinic

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2022

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Hwange West Constituency leadership has appealed for humanitarian assistance to rehabilitate a school, clinic and homes which were on Monday extensively damaged by a hailstorm that left scores of villagers and pupils heavily exposed.

Besides sweeping roofs from homesteads across the vast Ndlovu Village in the outskirts of Victoria Falls, the raging showers coupled with strong winds also wreaked havoc at Ndlovu Secondary School where several classroom blocks were blown away together with the teacher’s cottages and a nearby clinic.

The appeal was made by Robson Salimu who works as the personal assistant of Member of Parliament Godfrey Dube, after conducting an assessment of the damage in the area.

“Fellow citizens, we are currently faced with difficulties as a constituency, (where) the recent hail storms experienced across has left so much damage in our roads infrastructure, education and health,” Salimu said.

“We have been heavily hit as the Hwange family, whereby our Ndlovu Secondary School has been totally destroyed, and so are the teachers Cottages,”

“Roofs in all classrooms, the staff room, all electrical gadgets, teacher’s cottages, school Jojo water tank all blown away and the clinic which is barely 100 meters from the school totally damaged.”

Maternity ward ceiling and roof sheets were ripped off, exposing beds and other medicals.

” We are humbly appealing for donations from all the citizens, churches, business community and political parties across divides, ” he said.

“This is a Constituency disaster and should be looked at with the merit it deserves.

Registry offices were also damaged and some villagers also lost their livestock.

Salimu said those with donations can contact Kachechete Ward councilor Given Moyo (00263 0772462892 or Ndlovu Secondary School head on 0715528519.

Meanwhile, Salimu said they were yet to get feedback from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration regarding the damage on the city’s Victoria Falls – Bulawayo highway road caused by heavy rains that pounded the resort two weeks ago.

National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

3 weeks ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

2 months ago

March 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

3 months ago

February 3, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.