Community members in Ward 7 in the Mutetenwa area in Beitbridge have been thrown into panic mode after a 13-year-old boy poured a poisonous herbicide into a river which supplies water to livestock and people from at least five villages.
The incident took place on Monday this week but the name of the herbicide is still being verified by experts.
According to Mutetenwa’s senior village head, Mr Nelson Mohadi the fish in the stream have started dying and a donkey that drank water from the same river died on the same day.
He said, through the local disaster risk management committee, they had since notified people staying downstream of the river not to use water from the river and also ensure their livestock use alternative water sources.
Mr Mohadi said the local Civil Protection Committee was already on the ground carrying out tests of the water between the point where the herbicide was poured into the river, and at selected water points downstream.
“The community is in panic mode following this incident and we have since notified the police and the local Civil Protection Committee about the incident,” he said.
“In the interim, we advise villagers not to drink or use the water from domestic chores until tests from the Civil Protection Committee confirm the extent of the damage.”
A kraal head Mrs Siphiwe Muleya from Tshambudzi area, where the boy lives, said they were working with the police to establish the motive behind the incident.
She said she has advised all community members in the area to make use of the borehole water and avoid fishing from the river.
“We picked up the container of the herbicide which we have given to agriculture experts to verify and will also help in investigations,” she said. “The police are now handling the matter and the parents of the same boy have since been notified about this worrying incident.”
Senior village head, Nelson Mohadi showing the donkey that died due to poisoning
Mutetenwa Village health worker, Mrs Lucy Chibi said, working with health experts, they are already educating those living along the river to be extra vigilant.
She said the dead fish from the river had been buried to avoid consumption by humans.
“We are already moving around villages warning people about the danger from the herbicide that was poured into the river.
“At the same time, I want to strongly encourage community members to avoid drinking water or fishing from this river until it has been confirmed to be safe by experts,” said Mrs Chibi.
A communal farmer living in the La Tenis area, Mrs Nyelisani Sibanda, said she was shocked to see purple water flowing along the river on Monday.
“I was working in my field which is just close to the river and when I came here to get water it had turned purple,” said Mrs Sibanda.
“A few minutes later some fish were dying on their own. I immediately called the local traditional leaders who then informed the rest of the community leaders about this incident. They then said that we must not drink or fetch water from the river.
“We chased away some livestock that were drinking water from this point, unfortunately, one donkey died near our business centre.”
Police Officer Commanding Beitbridge District Chief Superintendent Melusi Ncube said the matter was now under investigation“
We have sent our team on the ground which is working with the Civil Protection Committee members and we will share more information after getting feedback from them,” he said. The issue comes a few months following the poisoning of fish ponds at Tshabili Secondary School in Beitbridge East leading to the death of thousands of fish that were part of the school’s income-generating projects
