Zim Elephant Kills Motswana 'Poacher'

Mmegi/The Reporter
February 14, 2003

Fraser Mpofu

A Motswana man was last week trampled to death by a raging elephant at Maitengwe in Bulilima district in Zimbabwe, police have said.

The deceased was part of a four-man gang suspected to be on a poaching mission in Zimbabwe.

A police spokesman for Matabeleland south province, inspector Alfred Zvenyika said four men from Sepako village in Nata area of Botswana allegedly crossed the border into Zimbabwe illegally some time last week on a poaching escapade.

He identified the deceased as Fanyana Tsibile, whose decomposing body was found covered by a heap of tree branches. Elephants, by their nature, cover their victims with tree branches. Zvenyika said that while the four men were hunting, they came across a herd of elephants. One of the beasts charged at the terrified hunters, who took to their heels but Tsibile was not fast enough.

According to Inspector Zvenyika, Tsibile's alleged accomplices escaped unhurt after they sped home across the border. "When the survivors arrived home in Botswana, they took five days before reporting the elephant attack on the deceased to either his relatives or the police.

They only reported to the police after the deceased's relatives had asked his whereabouts," Zvenyika said. The Botswana police contacted their Zimbabwean counterparts and the three poaching suspects were brought back to Maitengwe to the scene of the tragedy. The trio was subsequently arrested and are expected to appear in a Zimbabwe court soon to answer charges of border jumping and poaching.

The Maitengwe area is rich in game because it is a Communal Area Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) area. CAMPFIRE is a concept where rural communities engage in projects to manage their natural resources for their own benefit. Most communities use the concept to take care of their wildlife resources.