Residents complain of lack of security at safari dam

The incident occurred last Sunday at about 5pm when the two, Percy Ndlovu (29) and Clifford Msipha (22), were with 19 other friends during a birthday celebration for their four friends.
The two victims were both from Bulawayo’s Nkulumane high-density suburb.
The residents, who visited the site after the tragic incident, said Maguga Safari Dam was a death trap and called upon the responsible authorities to do justice for the sake of saving other people’s lives.
One of the concerned residents only identified as Mr Dube said the owners of the safari were ripping off people of their money yet the place was deserted and unsafe.
“We are worried that history would repeat itself at Maguga Safari Dam if the responsible authorities do nothing about the lack of security at the place. The safari has no guides, no life saving equipment and reliable means of communication,” said Mr Dube.
“How can people who do not know how to navigate canoes be left alone in the dam? When we got to the place after the horrific incident, we only found an old man at the reception, whose job is to just collect the money that is paid by people who visit the place.”
He said the man showed them one life saving jacket and another torn one and said there was no life saving boat.
“The woman’s body was retrieved by white people who had also visited the place soon after the incident. Unfortunately, they failed to retrieve the man because he had sunk to the deep end of the dam.
“The old man had to leave the office and find a higher place searching for network to make a phone call to the police station. How does the responsible authority let such a place run with no adequate resources, putting lives of innocent people at risk, ” said Mr Dube.
He said the owner of the safari, who is believed to be a woman, was nowhere to be seen when the incident occurred and when they retrieved the man’s body.
“What pained us most is that the owner of the safari never bothered herself to communicate with us and pretended as if nothing had happened.
“Instead, we heard her telling reporters on radio that the group had forced itself into the safari dam, which is not true because they paid $5 each for the poor services,” said Mr Dube.
Mrs Nora Sibanda, who resides in Esigodini, told Chronicle that the dam was infested with crocodiles although no guides or security personnel were hired to watch all the activities at the dam.
“When you get to the safari, there is a declaration at the reception, which mentions that the dam is infested with crocodiles and people do their activities at their own risk.
“But what surprises me is that there are no security measures that have been put in place. People are allowed to do what they want with no guidance or qualified personnel to take action in case of emergencies,” said Mrs Sibanda.
She urged the Government to intervene and make sure that professional people who value human life run the place.