Two drown after suspected hippo attack

GWERU – Two men who were fishing with a boat drowned in Ntiyabezi Dam after a suspected
hippopotamus attack.

The two, Tembelani Gwebu and Maivongwe Dube, who were who were workers at Plot 60 Woodend
in Gweru were part of Mpumelela Fishing Cooperative in the area.
Although police could not confirm the incident, community members confirmed the drowning of the
duo on September 12.
The bodies were retrieved on September 15 after a combined search effort comprising the police
and community.
One of the community leaders and member of the cooperative Graen Mutongana said the two went
fishing using a boat at about 5pm on September 12. Unfortunately, the boat capsised.
“We suspected that they were attacked by a hippopotamus because what we could only see the
next day was the tip of the boat as it was submerged in water, but we could not see Gwebu and
Dube,” he said.
Mutongana said the community alerted the police sub-aqua unit, which came to look for the bodies
but failed to find them on the first day of searching.
He said community members also began making searches and the bodies were found after three
days.
Burial was delayed as the police insisted on post-mortems which did not give conclusive results.
“According to the post-mortem, cause of death could not be ascertained as the bodies were in an
advanced state of decomposition,” Mutongana said.
Dube was buried at his rural home in Nkayi while Gwebu was buried at Plot 60 in Gweru.