National

Man mauled by hippo in Victoria Falls recounts horror

Published

3 years ago

August 13, 2022

Staff Writer

BY BENJAMIN LYNCH

A man mauled by a territorial hippo described the encounter as a “bad day at the office”.

Paul Templer was working as a tour guide on the Zambezi river in 1996, he would lead tourists down the flowing water past scenery filled with elephants, crocodiles and giraffes.

Also in the nearby menagerie were hippos, known to be territorial and vicious when they have to be and “on a day that started like any other”, Paul had a brush with death after an altercation with the huge mammal and became trapped in its mouth.

The father of three had met this particular hippo before, recalling to the Guardian: “The hippo who tried to kill me wasn’t a stranger – he and I had met before a number of times.

“I’d been working this stretch of river for years, and the grouchy old two-ton bull had carried out the occasional half-hearted attack.

“I’d learned to avoid him. Hippos are territorial and I knew where he was most likely to be at any given time.”

The guide owned a business that took tourists down the river near the famous Victoria Falls and things appeared to be passing by as normal until he felt a whack and saw the boat of a fellow guide, Evans, being lifted out of the water.

Evans himself had been flung out of the boat but the two tourists remained inside.

Paddling over to save Evans, who was later found drowned, Paul’s world suddenly went dark.

He recounted: “I reached over to grab his outstretched hand but as our fingers were about to touch, I was engulfed in darkness.

“There was no transition at all, no sense of approaching danger. It was as if I had suddenly gone blind and deaf.”

Bull hippo’s can grow over four metres long and in the wild can weigh well over three tonnes.

“There was a terrible, sulphurous smell, like rotten eggs, and a tremendous pressure against my chest.

“My arms were trapped but I managed to free one hand and felt around – my palm passed through the wiry bristles of the hippo’s snout.

“It was only then that I realised I was underwater, trapped up to my waist in his mouth.” – The Mirror

Related Topics:Paul Templer Zambezi River

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National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

3 weeks 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

2 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.

National

Retailers send Mnangagwa SOS as shops continue shutting down over operational woes

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY ZIMLIVE

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has implored President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and save the sector which has seen various formal retail and wholesale businesses closing shop countrywide due to operational challenges.

In a statement on Sunday, CZR president Denford Mutashu said the continued closure of formal retail and wholesale businesses is a direct consequence of the tough economic environment that has consistently failed to support formalised sector players who face stiff competition from informal businesses and vendors the majority of whom have no tax obligations to deal with.

Mutashu said his association was concerned that authorities continue to downplay the crisis.

“The recent closure of several outlets under the N. Richards Group, coupled with Spar Zimbabwe’s painful decision to shut down Queensdale Spar, Choppies Zimbabwe’s exit from the market, and Mahommed Mussa’s significant reduction of shop space by 60%, highlights the growing crisis.

“As the representative association for these and other brands, CZR is alarmed that while formal businesses face enormous challenges, the authorities continue to present a different picture of the operating environment,” he said.

Given the situation, Mutashu said, only President Mnangagwa can rescue the troubled sector.

“CZR therefore calls for urgent intervention from His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, to rescue what remains of the formalized retail and wholesale sector,” said Mutashu.

He said the sector was in urgent need of rescue.

“While CZR acknowledges the continued support from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it is clear that the root causes of these challenges are fiscal and monetary in nature. These require urgent and decisive action to ensure the survival of formal businesses.

“CZR therefore appeals to the Presidium to prioritize interventions aimed at saving jobs and mitigating the ongoing wave of shop closures and retrenchments,” he said.