11-year-old drowns in Mazayi river

THE news hit Mr Clement Ndlovu like a physical blow — his 11-year-old son, Joseph Randy Mpofu — had drowned in a pool of water beneath a bridge in Richmond suburb.

The short distance between his home and the scene of the tragedy stretched out, an agonisingly long run, the longest of his life.
A whirlwind of conflicting emotions surged through him as he sprinted the half-kilometre to Sikokiyana Bridge on Mazayi River. He desperately yearned to find his son alive, clinging to hope, yet simultaneously dreaded the inevitable — that he would find him gone.

The schoolboy had been walking home from nearby Aisleby Farm School with friends on Thursday afternoon, around 3PM, when tragedy struck.

“I received a call that Randy had drowned while playing with friends on the bridge they cross every day to and from school. I ran to the bridge, praying that I would find my son alive, but I was also terrified that it was too late,” Mr Ndlovu recounted to Chronicle.

Randy is expected be buried in Matopo today.
Randy, a Grade 5 pupil at Aisleby Farm School, was the middle child, with two sisters. Mr Ndlovu is struggling to comprehend how his son could have fallen from the bridge, which was not overflowing, and drowned in a pool of water a few metres away in the Mazayi River.

The boy’s school shoes and jersey were found in his bag on the dry concrete bridge.
“His friends said that when Randy fell into the water, they initially thought he was just playing around and called for him to come out so they could go home. They realised something was wrong when Randy started flailing his arms and then disappeared beneath the surface,” he explained.

The boys screamed for help, and an elderly man who responded to their cries raised the alarm with other Richmond residents. By the time Ndlovu arrived at the scene with two other residents, it was tragically too late to save the boy, whose body remained submerged.

The area where the boy drowned is choked with water hyacinth, a floating invasive plant that disrupts freshwater ecosystems by smothering native vegetation and impeding the flow of water in rivers and streams.

The Bulawayo Fire Brigade was called to the scene and retrieved the body.
“We received a call at 15:38 hours about a drowning incident, and the crew arrived on scene at 15:53 hours. The body of an 11-year-old boy was retrieved from Sikokiyana Bridge. The Fire Brigade continues to urge the public to stay away from water bodies,” said Bulawayo Fire Brigade chief fire officer Mhlangano Moyo.

Last month, three-year-old Sibusiso Methembe Ndlovu died after being swept away by flash floods near his home in New Lobengula suburb. The boy was carried away by strong currents after falling into a storm drainage system. His lifeless body was found several metres away in a ditch from the storm drain where he was swept away.

The Civil Protection Unit (CPU) has also urged people to exercise caution during heavy rains and to keep a close eye on children, especially near storm drains, rivers, streams, and flooded areas.