By Delicious Mathuthu
Three herd-boys and a man from Gokwe South in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe were recently saved by cattle tails after being marooned in one of Sasame river islands.
With heavy rains that fell in Gokwe North, Gokwe South and Kwekwe Districts, some reaching up to 116 millimeters, the Zimbabwe government says it is on high alert through Provincial Civil Protection Units.
Despite schools, clinics, power infrastructure,
houses, huts and homesteads being affected and damaged by the heavy rains, including the Sasame river bridge approach that links Gokwe North and South being swept away, no lives lost have being reported.
However, it was a close call for the three young herd-boys and the male adult who were marooned in the island in the middle of Sasame river and had to wait for it to subside before risking being swept away by the flooded river while clinging to cow tails to the main land.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Owen Ncube, confirmed the marooning incident as one of the major reported distress cases in the Midlands Province, saying it was ‘fortunate’ that they survived.
“A male adult and 3 children… were marooned at an island in Sasame River, Gokwe South District on the 28th of December 2023 while herding cattle.
“Fortunately, the children were able to move to a safer place with the aid of cattle tails when the water subsided,” Hon. Minister Ncube said.
On the Sasame river bridge damage, Hon. Ncube said the link road has been cut, with vehicles having to divert more than 200 kilometers via Kadoma to access Gokwe North.
“Resultantly, there is no access road from Gokwe South to Gokwe North.
“Thus, motorists are therefore forced to use the Kadoma access road which is more than 200km,” Hon. Ncube said.
He said engineers are already on the ground to assess the extent of the damage and to prescribe the best possible solution.
“The Provincial Civil Protection Committee has deployed the Provincial Roads Engineer and his team to establish the extent of the damage and advise on appropriate action to restore normalcy,” he said.
Kwedu Classics
Your story our story
