Hwange man’s body found 20km downstream 2 weeks later

THE body of a 31-year-old man from Hwange District, who was swept away while attempting to drive through a flooded Deka River has been recovered nearly two weeks later, about 20 kilometres downstream from where the tragedy occurred.

Washington Ncube of Kasase Village in Ward 9 was found last Friday in Mwemba Village, Kakunka area, under Chief Hwange, after he was swept away on the night of January 14 at around 8PM.
Ncube was driving back to Hwange town after dropping off a passenger in Mashala Village when he attempted to cross the swollen river, which had burst its banks following heavy rains.

Ward 10 councillor, Clr Lethukuthula Ngwenya, said the body was discovered by a villager who had gone into nearby bushes to run errands.

“The villager’s dogs suddenly began barking and ran towards the riverbank. When he followed them, he discovered a body lying face down near the river,” said Clr Ngwenya.

She said the body had not been mutilated but was already showing signs of decomposition.
“The body was taken to Victoria Falls Hospital for post-mortem and was later buried on Saturday evening at his rural home,” she said.

In a tragic twist, Clr Ngwenya said drowning incidents appear to have haunted the deceased’s family.
“It is saddening that his twin brother and uncle also died in separate drowning incidents some years ago,” she said.

The incident adds to a growing list of fatalities linked to flooded rivers, as authorities continue to warn the public against attempting to cross waterways during the rainy season.
Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda said several lives have already been lost in what he described as largely preventable incidents.

“Since the onset of the rainy season, we have recorded multiple drowning cases, most of them involving people attempting to cross flooded rivers,” said Insp Banda.

He cited a fatal incident on December 26 last year in which four people attempted to cross a flooded river using a donkey-drawn cart.

“The cart was swept away by strong currents, resulting in the death of one passenger, while the other three managed to escape,” said Insp Banda.

National figures paint an even grimmer picture. Last week, the Department of Civil Protection (DCP) reported that 109 people have died nationwide from drowning, lightning strikes and being swept away by flooded rivers since the start of the rainy season.

According to the DCP, since October, 8 295 households have been adversely affected, while 334 houses and 236 schools have been damaged across the country.

Manicaland Province has recorded the highest number of fatalities with 36 deaths, followed by Mashonaland West with 19, while 16 people have died in Matabeleland South.

Harare Metropolitan Province has the highest number of affected households at 5 093, followed by Matabeleland South with 1 600 and Manicaland with 510.

In its report, the department noted that due to incessant rains, demand for its services has risen.

“The country has witnessed loss of lives, livelihoods and property; infrastructure damage; incidents of drowning and marooning of people in flooded rivers; cases of mine collapse; landslides; lightning incidents, among others,” read the report.

Critical infrastructure affected includes roads and bridges, schools, health facilities, houses, farm dams and irrigation schemes.