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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau
AN 80-year-old security guard at a Banket farm was burnt to death as he failed to escape a ravaging veld fire that blazed through a local farming community of Banket over the weekend.
Sakatiza Mariza of Plumstead Farm was coming from night duty at St John’s Farm near Banket when the inferno ravaged the area.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained with Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and police still conducting investigations.
EMA’s provincial spokesperson, Mr Munyaradzi Nhariswa confirmed the incident before calling on citizens to be on guard against veld fires which the nation experiences from July to November.
The octogenarian is believed to have been walking through a path between tall grass when the unfortunate incident happened.
The fire also destroyed large tracts of land.
The deceased’s body was noticed by Isiah Mutero (66) of Plot 4 Plumstead Farm who was driving through St John’s – Plumstead farm road.
He alerted the people at the nearby Plumstead Farm compound and they came to investigate and Mariza’s son, Costa, identified the deceased as his father.
Banket police who together with detectives from Chinhoyi CID attended the scene.
The body was taken to Banket District Hospital for a post-mortem whilst foul play was ruled out.
Online Reporter