Mourners fed donkey meat

Hazel Marimbiza
MOURNERS that attended a funeral at St Peter’s were left tongue tied after feasting on stolen donkey meat which they thought was zebra meat.

According to sources close to this issue, Paul Ndlovu, who recently lost his relative bought stolen donkey meat from Thulani Ncube thinking he was buying zebra meat.

As a result the meat was eaten at the Ndlovu family’s funeral.

“Ncube sold the meat in the evening at around 7pm. He had just lost a relative and he bought the meat for mourners to feast on. Several residents who thronged his homestead all feasted on the meat,” said a source who only agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

B-Metro got hold of St Peter’s vice chairman Bernard Sitshela Ngwenya who confirmed the incident.

“We had never eaten donkey meat and we don’t understand what got into Ncube’s mind. Most people who ate this meat do not even want to talk about it because they are simply embarrassed. Ncube is a real gangster who should desist from such behaviour. We are glad that the police managed to get hold of him,” said Ngwenya.

Ngwenya added that residents had no time to check if it was genuine meat as they were lured by the cheap price.

“Meat is so expensive these days so when someone comes with a cheap offer people easily get enticed. Residents were generally happy to get meat that they could afford,” said Ngwenya.

Some mourners who thronged Ndlovu’s homestead are reportedly suffering from stomach pains after consuming the meat.

“There are some residents who have not been in good health ever since they ate the meat. For instance there is a man

I know who is suffering from a running tummy as a result of consuming the meat at the funeral,” said a resident.

There is no known side effects to eating donkey meat. The Chinese consider it similar to eating cows. Some people in Botswana also consider donkey meat a delicacy. However, in Zimbabwe locals don’t eat the meat and last year when a local company announced plans to open its first donkey abattoir for the export market there was a public outcry.