NEW: Cobra kills schoolboy

 

Freedom Mutanda

Post Correspondent

 

A GRADE Five pupil at Kondo Primary School in Ward 16 of Chipinge rural under Chief Musikavanhu, recently died after being bitten by a venomous cobra snake while sleeping during the night.

 

Provider Maposa (11) was rushed to a nearby clinic where he received medical attention.

 

His condition briefly stabilised before deteriorating.

 

He succumbed to the reptile’s poison the following day before being taken to Chipinge District Hospital.

 

Provider was buried last Thursday at Mwandina Village.

 

Colleen Maposa, a relative of the deceased, said the family was left shocked after the nocturnal attack on the boy by the snake.

 

“Provider Maposa (11) went to bed on Tuesday night and a cobra crept up to him and bit his arm twice before disappearing into the darkness. Efforts to find the reptile that night were in vain. It was only found the following day coiled on the roof before it was killed.

 

‘’We are devastated. This is a big blow to the family as Provider was an obedient boy with a bright future It is strange that the snake surreptitiously crept and attacked the boy while he was asleep,’’ she said.

 

A sombre atmosphere still engulfs Kondo Village as villagers are still to come to terms with the boy’s death.

 

Many have been left dumbfounded following the events that transpired before the tragedy.

 

Word doing the rounds is that the boy had been stalked by the reptile since early February, with some claiming that he had been chased by the snake before.

 

‘’On two separate occasions in February, a cobra chased the boy but no-one thought that it would end this way. As a community, we are baffled by these events and how it eventually ended,” said a villager who refused to be named.

 

Chipinge District Schools Inspector, Mr Abson Mapfumo, who was represented by Mr Isaac Ziki expressed shock and sorrow at the untimely death of the boy.

 

He said the village had lost a future leader.

 

‘’Provider was a disciplined and intelligent child. He was a class monitor and one of the bright pupils in his class who was involved in school activities and projects,’’ said Mr Mapfumo.