Connect with us

In the community

Zimbabwe’s human wildlife conflict compensation scheme met with scepticism

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Windas Sianene is grateful that he miraculously survived a crocodile attack soon after escaping from being trampled by elephants, but he says life has become a nightmare for him and his children.

Advertisement

Sianene (43) from Binga had his left leg and arm bitten off by a crocodile in the morning of September 28 after he jumped into Mlibizi River while fleeing from five elephants that had approached him as he was fishing with friends.

His right leg was also badly injured by the crocodile attack.

The father-of-three was attacked by the crocodile as he tried to swim to safety and survived the epic battle with the reptile by jumping on its back and shoving his arm down its throat to make it gag until he was rescued.

Advertisement

Sianene was taken to Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo – about 436 kilometres from his home in Binga – where both his legs and left arm were amputated, but his nightmare did not end there.

His wounds did not heal until relatives took him to Zambia where he was amputated on both legs again because the doctors said the initial procedure at Mpilo Hospital was botched.

The unemployed widower has been relying on relatives and well-wishers to cover medical costs and for the upkeep of his family.

Advertisement

“I have not been helped by anyone from the government,” he said.

“They tried to contact me soon after the incident, but I have not heard anything from them since then.

“It’s only well-wishers that have been assisting me (with food and medical fees).”

Advertisement

Sianene’s plight will resonate with hundreds of victims of wildlife conflict across Zimbabwe who are left to struggle on their own to access medical care or any form of compensation because of the absence of an appropriate framework.

Cases of human wildlife conflict have been on the increase with research by the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association indicating that attacks by wild animals rose by a staggering 293% between 2016 and last year.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) said more than 60 people were killed by wild animals between January and May this year, which was equivalent to the number of people killed in the whole of 2020.

Advertisement

Last year, 72 lives were lost due to human wildlife conflicts that are blamed on unsustainable population growth of animals such as elephants and encroachment of human settlements into wildlife habitat.

Communities in wildlife corridors also regularly lose their crops and livestock as competition for water and food between wild animals and humans intensifies.

The government recently said it was setting up a human wildlife conflict compensation fund to cushion victims through medical assistance and where death occurs, funeral assistance will be provided.

Advertisement

It is based on a self-financing model where proceeds from hunting and other crowd funding activities would be pooled for the relief effort, but conservationists and activists are not convinced that it will go far enough in addressing the plight of victims of human wildlife conflict such as Sianene.

Blessing Matasva, co-founder of the Green Institute Trust that has been monitoring human wildlife conflicts in Manicaland province, said it was not clear how the proposed fund will assist victims and resolve the deadly conflicts.

“We have our reservations in terms of how the fund is going to operate since the government has highlighted that it is a self-funding mechanism,” Matasva said.

Advertisement

“We are worried that there won’t be enough money flowing to the fund.

“Issues of regulatory frameworks protecting the funds need to be addressed because there is an issue of the limit to say who is going to get compensated.”

Given Moyo, a councillor in one of the wards in Hwange district that bears the brunt of the human wild conflicts, said there was need to overhaul a number of laws to protect communities.

Advertisement

“We have been advocating for communities to benefit from their natural resources, including elephants that are being sold to Asian countries,” Moyo said.

“Elephants also destroy crops and we have been lobbying that they be culled so that the meat is given to starving people in the communities, but our pleas have been ignored.

“We are worried about the recently announced compensation scheme because it does not address the real issues that communities are facing.

Advertisement

“We want the compensation fund to be backed by a law so that victims and communities can hold those in power to account when they don’t deliver.

He added: “We cannot celebrate a fund that is not complete when people’s crops are being destroyed year after year and lives are lost due to mismanagement of natural resources.”

Mutasva said the funds should promote human wildlife conflict prevention measures such as fencing of game reserves, introduction of community benefit schemes and provision of water.

Advertisement

“They are only talking about three compensatory measures that are for death, injury and maiming,” he added.

“It should also address loss of crops because there has been a lot of damage there and they must help the survivors because in some instances it is breadwinners who become victims of human wildlife conflicts.

“They should also consider psychological support for victims because most of these families are left to mourn on their own.

Advertisement

“Above all, we need a law that regulates these funds because without that the money is bound to be misused.”

Jephat Muzamba, a traditional leader in Binga, said the compensation scheme must go beyond covering medical and funeral expenses as communities were losing their livelihoods to human wildlife conflicts.

“The fund should help protect people from the wild animals because in my area many people have been killed together with their livestock,” Muzamba said.

Advertisement

“In some instances, some people have been left nursing permanent injuries and for the government to say they will only cater for a funeral is not enough as the victims need to be looked after.”

Conservationists say Zimbabwe can copy neighbouring Botswana’s human wildlife conflict compensation model.

The Botswana government pays transport and medical costs for victims of attacks by wild animals.

Advertisement

In the event of death, the victim’s family is given money to cover funeral costs and loss of income.

The government also pays compensation for loss of livestock, which is 35% of the killed domestic animals and where crops are destroyed, the farmers receive a payout to repair the damaged fences and buy seed.

 

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

In the community

MPs raise alarm over illegal gold mining threatening Inyathi hospital

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has raised serious concern over illegal gold mining activities taking place directly beneath Inyathi District Hospital in Bubi District, Matabeleland North — warning that the facility’s infrastructure could collapse if the practice continues unchecked.

Advertisement

The revelation came during the committee’s ongoing verification visits to rural health centres across Zimbabwe, aimed at assessing the state of medical infrastructure, equipment, and essential drug availability. The visits, led by Hon. Daniel Molokele, are being conducted on behalf of the committee chairperson, Hon. Dr. Thokozani Khupe.

Speaking to VicFallsLive, Molokele said the team was shocked to discover that artisanal miners (amakorokoza) had extended their illegal mining tunnels under the hospital grounds.

“One of the things that we found at Inyathi District Hospital is that amakorokoza are now doing their gold mining right under the hospital,” said Molokele. “They used to do it outside, but now they have gone beneath the facility. There is a real risk that the infrastructure might collapse because of the underground pressure. This is lawlessness that the government urgently needs to address.”

Advertisement

Molokele added that the situation reflects broader governance and enforcement challenges in mining communities, where unregulated artisanal mining continues to threaten both public safety and environmental health.

“Most of the cases that patients come with are physical wounds — largely injuries from violent clashes among the amakorokoza,” he said. “There’s a lot of violence happening there, and it is putting a heavy burden on an already under-resourced hospital.”

The committee, which began its tour on Monday in Inyathi before proceeding to Avoca in Insiza District (Matabeleland South), Gundura in Masvingo, and Mutiusinazita in Buhera (Manicaland), is compiling findings that will inform parliamentary recommendations.

Advertisement

“We will produce a report that will have clear recommendations,” Molokele said. “The National Assembly will debate it, and the Minister of Health will use it to engage the Minister of Finance, especially in the upcoming budget process. We are hoping for a renewed focus on rural healthcare centres, which have been neglected and underfunded for many years.”

Molokele said the verification exercise — though limited by time and financial constraints — seeks to highlight conditions in at least one rural health facility per province.

The committee’s findings come at a time when Zimbabwe’s rural health infrastructure is under severe strain, with many facilities struggling with drug shortages, outdated equipment, and deteriorating buildings. The situation in Inyathi now adds a new dimension of danger — where illegal mining is not only threatening livelihoods but also public infrastructure meant to save lives.

Advertisement

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

In the community

Painted Dog Conservation and Uncommon bring free coding school to Gwai Valley Primary

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), in partnership with technology-driven organisation Uncommon, is set to establish a free coding school at Gwai Valley Primary in Lupane District, marking a new chapter in community empowerment and education.

Advertisement

Speaking during an interview with VicFallsLive, PDC operations director, David Kuvawoga said the initiative stems from the organisation’s long-term work with local schools through its children’s bush camps.

“In our quest to find solutions to the poaching crisis, and building on the work we’ve done with schools over the years, we identified Gwai Primary as a good location to start a coding school,” he explained. “We partnered with Uncommon, which already runs facilities in Harare and Victoria Falls, to bring this opportunity closer to rural communities.”

The school will be housed in container units equipped with computers and other necessary technology. According to PDC, the project will be led by youths from the Gwai community who underwent year-long training in Victoria Falls and are now prepared to teach children — and adults — the fundamentals of coding.

Advertisement

“This is not just for schoolchildren,” the operations director said. “Anyone in the community with the passion to learn can join. What matters is the interest and commitment, not formal qualifications.”

Importantly, the programme will be free of charge. Both organisations confirmed that tuition, equipment, and running costs are fully covered through fundraising efforts.

“No one is going to pay a cent,” he said. “Just like our bush camps, which host over a thousand children every year without charge, this coding school is fully funded. All the community needs to do is embrace it.”

Advertisement

PDC has previously supported communities through projects such as boreholes and gardens, but this marks its first major investment in technology. The director said the initiative has the potential to address unemployment, improve education, and give local youth world-class digital skills.

“Coding is a highly sought-after skill across the world,” he noted. “If young people here can learn it, they can secure jobs or even create employment for others. This is a brick in the foundation of uplifting Lupane, Hwange, and beyond.”

The coding school is expected to open in December at Gwai Valley Primary.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Lupane police officer sentenced for tampering with mbanje evidence

Published

on

BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A 21-year-old constabulary officer in Lupane has been convicted after admitting he tampered with evidence in a drug possession case, effectively helping a suspect conceal part of the stash.

Advertisement

The officer, Nqobile Mutale, was on duty at Lupane Terminus Base on the 18th of September when he arrested Thulani Sibanda, who had been implicated in unlawful possession of dagga/imbanje. Instead of handing over the full exhibit, Mutale struck a deal with Sibanda and hid part of the recovered drugs behind the police base.

Detectives later uncovered the hidden dagga, with Mutale leading them to the site during investigations.

Standing before the Lupane Magistrates’ Court, Mutale pleaded guilty to obstructing the course of justice. He was handed a 24-month sentence, with nine months suspended. The balance of 15 months was also suspended, provided he completes 525 hours of community service.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage