Missing boy unites community

Leonard Ncube, [email protected]
FOUR-YEAR-OLD Mukundi Darrel Fore, who went missing after attending church in Victoria Falls on Saturday, has been found alive and healthy after 35 hours, thanks to the collaborative effort of residents and the business community in conducting an extensive day and night search.

Police are now investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance as it was reported that Mukundi had been seen eating dried snacks with an unidentified man before being dropped off by a car near the same location where he was last seen during church.

Mukundi had gone to church with his mother, Ms Loice Zimunhu, a teacher at Lesedi Primary School, when he disappeared at around 4.30pm.
An immediate SOS was sent out and various stakeholders, including politicians, tourism and business executives, church leaders and other concerned individuals, formed a search party that eventually led to the discovery of the boy.

The search party was co-ordinated through the Ward One Neighbourhood Watch Committee, with the help of the police, Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and other authorities, among others.

What was particularly remarkable about this search-and-rescue operation was the extent of support from the community, including the participation of helicopter tour operating companies that provided helicopters for an aerial search and other businesses that offered various kinds of assistance.

The Victoria Falls community has developed a culture of pooling resources together to help those in need, and this gesture of unity and resilience in the face of adversity was much-needed comfort for Ms Zimunhu, who was relieved to be reunited with her son.

“I am so excited. When they called me to come to the hospital, I rushed there and was overjoyed to see my son healthy and clean,” she said.

“The doctors checked him and confirmed that he is in good health. He is now happy but we are still in shock about this as we don’t know why anyone would take our son. It’s as if someone wanted to send a message, but we leave everything to the police.”

Vice chairperson of the Ward One Neighbourhood Watch Committee, Mr Ephias Mambume, thanked all volunteer search parties.

“The business community is always happy to step in and work in conjunction with the community because we value the community in which we operate,” he said.

“So, anything that values livelihoods and safety of the community, the business community of Victoria Falls has a culture of stepping in.

“This is the community that provided helicopters and donated water and other valuable resources to the search party. That’s our culture, that is Victoria Falls and the business community is part of the community at large. We work hand-in-glove with existing structures like the police and that makes our lives easier,” said Mr Mambume.

Another community leader, Mr Tonderai Mutasa, said the unity shown by the community is a recipe for development.

“We witnessed the oneness of the people of Victoria Falls from the day the child went missing. The way people responded to the call for the search was overwhelming,” he said.

“This is what makes Victoria Falls a unique city. Injure one, you injure all. I am proud to be part of this community whose people are pro-development.”
Residents from Mkhosana and Chinotimba suburbs also joined in the search and they were due to go out in numbers yesterday morning when the message came that the boy had been found.

Combined Victoria Falls Residents Association chairman, Mr Kelvin Moyo, said Victoria Falls is a unique tourism destination because of its people and culture.

“As a city, we benefit from the cohesion we have. Our city is small and we literally know each other hence it is easy to stand up and help the next person,” he said.

“We are all happy about how people stood up and today (yesterday) a lot of residents had been mobilised to join the search party before it was announced that the boy had been found. That’s what makes us unique as Victoria Falls, the tourist destination,” he said. — @ncubeleon