Online Reporter
Arron Nyamayaro
A 23‑year‑old miner, who survived eight days trapped underground after a tunnel collapse, says he became so desperate that he contemplated eating his own feces to stay alive.
Pardon Ruvengo, an employee at Guernsey Gold Mine in Goromonzi, recounted his ordeal yesterday after being discharged from a private hospital, where he had been admitted for three days.
He was rescued alive, but his colleague, 21‑year‑old Innocent Mhere, died before help could reach them.
Ruvengo’s younger brother, 18‑year‑old Kudakwashe Junior, managed to escape the collapse.
“I want to believe God has a reason for giving me another chance to live,” Ruvengo said.
Ruvengo said he lost all sense of time in the collapsed shaft and could not tell day from night. With no food or clean water, he and Mhere resorted to collecting urine in a small container and drinking it to survive.
“I watched my friend lose his life beside me,” he said. “At some point, I was about to feed on my feces to survive.”
He described experiencing vivid dreams in which he saw relatives and colleagues discussing ways to rescue him. “It’s amazing — God’s grace. I believe God had a reason for rescuing me.”
Hospital staff celebrated his survival, with some posing for photographs as he was discharged. One nurse even joked that he should marry her because “a man who survives eight days underground is a miracle.”
Back home in Munorwei Village under Chief Bota in Zaka, villagers have reportedly been gathering at the Ruvengo homestead, struggling to believe he is alive.
“Everyone at the village is yet to believe that Pardon is alive,” said his father, 47‑year‑old Kudakwashe Ruvengo. He added that Pardon’s mother, who had been struggling emotionally, regained her strength after speaking to him during his resuscitation.
“As we speak, some villagers are still gathered at our homestead waiting to witness the miracle. It’s God who gives life,” he said.
Kudakwashe said the family was informed of the accident by Pardon’s younger brother, who had escaped the tunnel moments before it collapsed. The teenager had joined his brother at the mine to raise money for furthering his education after passing his Ordinary Level examinations.
Ruvengo, the first son in a family of five and an active member of ZCC Mbungo Church, says he has no intention of returning to mining. Instead, he plans to obtain a driver’s licence and train to operate earth‑moving machinery.
“I want to thank God, my colleagues, friends, relatives, and the staff at Pacific 24‑Hour Hospital for being used by the Creator for my survival,” he said.
He left Harare yesterday with his father, heading to Zaka where villagers continue to wait for his return.
