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IN an incident that left the Chisumbanje community shell-shocked, a Grade Seven learner committed suicide after losing in a video game.
The late Kelvin Gwenzi (12) of Konjana village, under Chief Garahwa’s area, was left by his mother, Ms Tariro Moyo (36), at their homestead as she headed to Save River to do her laundry.
Ms Moyo got the shock of her life upon her return, when she was told that her son had hanged himself after losing in a video game he was playing on a cell phone.
Deputy Manicaland police provincial spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, confirmed the incident, which happened on June 18 in Konjana village.
“I can confirm that on June 18, in Konjana village, under Chief Garahwa’s area, Chisumbanje, Kelvin Gwenzi, aged 12, died after hanging himself on a window.
“The now deceased’s mother, Ms Moyo, left home for Save River to do laundry. She left Kelvin with his two siblings aged four and eight, while they were playing games on a cell phone.
“As they were playing the games, Kelvin said he would hang himself if he lost the game. Kelvin lost the game against his two siblings.
“After losing, Kelvin went into another room. He tried to do a suicide prank and hanged himself on a curtain thread. He tried to loosen it , but failed and died,” said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka.
He said Kelvin’s grandmother, Mrs Miriam Tutununu, arrived at the homestead with the intention of fetching water and was told by her two grandchildren what had transpired.
She reported the matter at Chisumbanje Police Station.
Police officers attended the scene and the body was taken to St Peter’s Mission Hospital for a post-mortem. — Manica Post
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Man steals plastic bucket to gift wife
A 42-year-old man who was facing charges of stealing a 20-litre plastic bucket left a court in stitches when he claimed he wanted to please his “new” wife with the item so that she could use it when doing laundry.
This was heard when Joseph Rabson appeared before Concession magistrate Joshua Nembaware facing a theft charge.
Rabson pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to six months in prison, which were wholly suspended on condition he does not commit a similar offence within five years.
In mitigation and in a bid to get the court’s mercy, Rabson claimed he recently got married and when he stole the bucket, he wanted to give it to his wife so that she would use it when doing laundry.
It was the State’s case that on June 26 and around 7am, Rabson went to Moses Chikomo’s house. Chikomo had accompanied his child to school.
On realising that Chikomo was not around, Rabson stole an empty 20-litre plastic bucket that was outside the house.
Rabson later tried to break into Chikomo’s house using an iron bar, but the owner immediately arrived, prompting Rabson to flee with the bucket.
Chikomo then chased after Rabson and caught up with him, leading to the recovery of the bucket, valued at US$5.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to Rabson’s arrest.
Prosecutor Precious Khanye appeared for the State. — B-Metro
Crocodile found to have made itself pregnant
The first case of a crocodile that made itself pregnant has been identified at a zoo in Costa Rica.
The reptile produced a foetus that was 99,9 percent genetically identical to itself.
The phenomenon of so-called “virgin birth” has been found in species of birds, fish and other reptiles, but never before in crocodiles.
Scientists say the trait might be inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also have been capable of self-reproduction.
Research on the phenomenon has been published in the Royal Society journal, “Biology Letters”.
The egg was laid by an 18-year-old female American crocodile in Parque Reptilania in January 2018. The foetus inside was fully formed but stillborn and so did not hatch.
The crocodile that laid the egg was obtained when it was two years old and was kept apart from others for its entire life. Because of this, the park’s scientific team contacted Belfast-born Dr Warren Booth, now working at Virginia Tech in the United States. He has been studying virgin births, known scientifically as parthenogenesis, for 11 years.
Dr Booth analysed the foetus and found that it was more than 99,9 percent genetically identical to its mother — confirming that it had no father.
He told the media that he was not surprised by the discovery.
“We see it in in sharks, birds, snakes and lizards and it is remarkably common and widespread.”
He said parthenogenesis has not been seen in crocodiles because people have not been looking for instances of them.
“There was a big increase in reports of parthenogenesis when people started keeping pet snakes. But your average reptile keeper does not keep a crocodile,” he said.
One theory is that it happens in species capable of parthenogenesis when numbers dwindle, and they are on the verge of extinction.
“The fact that the mechanism of parthenogenesis is the same in so many different species suggests that it is a very ancient trait that has been inherited throughout the ages. So, this supports the idea that dinosaurs could also have reproduced this way.” — Wires
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