GMB Mhangura worker dies on duty

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
A Grain Marketing Board (GMB) Mhangura depot worker died recently after being knocked down by a bag of grain at a conveyor belt. Emmanuel Dzotizei (23) allegedly failed to position himself properly to collect the bag, resulting in the weight overwhelming him and he fell to the ground. The bag, which was reportedly over 50 kilogrammes, landed on his chest while a colleague moved to block other bags on the conveyor belt from landing on him.

Said one witness: “The accident occurred whilst we were about to knock off on Saturday at around 5pm. We think he could have failed to properly position himself to receive the bag and it affected his neck.” Other workers tried to conduct first aid before calling the depot manager who later informed his relatives and took him to Mhangura Hospital. Owing to the seriousness of the injuries, Dzotizei was transferred to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital before being taken to Harare for further attention.

He died two days later. A solemn atmosphere engulfed the Dzotizei homestead in Banket as GMB employees, relatives and friends tried to come to terms with his death. Dzotizei was buried yesterday in Banket. The post-mortem showed that the weight of the grain bag affected his spinal cord and lungs, while his heart was full of blood, but it did not affect his brain. Dzotizei’s father Mr Shungu Dzotizei said it was a tragic loss and the family was still trying to come to terms with the unexpected death.

“We do not know much about what took place, we only heard that he had been involved in an accident at his workplace He was a strong man with no known health conditions. It’s a sad development,” he said. The incident comes hardly two weeks after the death of another GMB worker in Banket after he was crashed by a tractor while on duty. GMB officials declined to comment.