adminThupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
A BEITBRIDGE man was run over by a goods train along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo railway line on Friday night, police said.
Investigators say they believe it was suicide.Assistant Inspector Christopher Ngwenya, the acting Matabeleland South provincial police spokesman, said the incident occurred at about 11.30PM near Makhado.
He identified the victim as Vaveson Njani, 47, a construction worker.
“Our preliminary investigations indicate that Njani was an employee of Manifest Construction Company, which had been contracted by Tel-One to set up a network boaster at Jopembe Mountain,” Asst Insp Ngwenya said.
“The engineman, Wakelo Masuku, spotted Njani standing on the rail tracks blew the horn, but Njani would not move. He tried to apply emergency brakes but it was too late resulting in the train crushing Njani and dragging his remains for about 300 metres before it eventually stopped.”
Njani’s remains were taken to Beitbridge District Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
“We’re treating the matter as suicide and we continue to urge people to seek counselling whenever they have social problems rather than resorting to taking their own lives,” said Asst Insp Ngwenya.
Online Reporter