BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
Hwange villagers yesterday lost 19 herd of cattle that were struck by lightning after heavy rains pounded the area.
The affected villagers are from BH27A on the outskirts of Victoria Falls.
Tymon Ndlovu, the BH27A village head said the cattle belonged to five families in Chief Mvuthu’s area.
“The village kraal called the Boma had 72 herd of cattle, which belonged to villagers and 19 of them were found piled on top of each other this morning following heavy rains last night,” Ndlovu said.
He said the carcases had since been bought by a local lion breeder for $40 each.
“According to our tradition and cultural beliefs, it is a taboo to consume meat from a beast that was struck by lightning,” he said.
“The carcasses are usually burnt or buried before a cleansing ceremony is done even though others conduct prayers in accordance with their religions.
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“But in this case both prayers and the traditional cleansing ceremony were done and carcasses were sold to Lion Encounter, an organisation that keeps lions for tourism purposes as a way of cushioning the affected villagers.”
Ndlovu said the Boma project where the herd of cattle was penned in was established in 2016 by farmers in BH 27 A and BH 27 A with the objective of trying to improve soil fertility and improve food security.
“The project comprises of 10 farmers, that is two females and eight males, who are being assisted by Wild Life Trust an organisation, which promotes wild animal conservation,” he said.
“The organisation is assisting farmers in capacity building and supplies them with farming inputs in the form of seed packs (maize and small grains), deworming and dipping services.
“The material to build the kraals was provided by the organisation as well all so it is moved from one farmer to another at intervals of seven days with all members participating being supervised by the group executive committee.”
