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Trust Nyemba (24), Sivelisiwe Mpofu (17) and Pamela (surname not given) drowned in Chiota Dam after their speedboat capsized. Nyemba drowned after he tried to save his girlfriend Pamela. Sources say the boat, which has a carrying capacity of four, was carrying seven people at the time.
The tragedy occurred at Pamvura Club and Lodges.

Police believe the boat capsized when one of the men who had jumped into the water to fix a mechanical fault tried to get back into the boat tipping it on one side.
The bodies of the deceased were yesterday morning retrieved by the police Sub Aqua Unit before being taken to Mvurwi Hospital mortuary.
An official at the club, who only identified himself as Mr Gray, said the dance group were holding a three-day “beach party” at the lodge.

“They decided to have a boat cruise and seven of them got into the boat. I think they overloaded it because it normally carries four people and the boat had life jackets but some of them apparently did not wear them,” he said.
He said while they were cruising, they saw something resembling a snake swimming in the water and decided to follow it.
During the chase, the engine stalled before it capsized.

Nyemba tried to save his girlfriend, Pamela and the two drowned together. When their bodies were retrieved yesterday, they were still holding on to each other.
Chief Makope attributed the deaths to activities deemed taboo in the area.
“They did something wrong by playing here while they were half-naked and the ancestral spirits in this area are against that. It’s taboo in terms of our culture.
“This is the first time such a tragedy has occurred at this place since it was taken over from the whites who used to run it five years ago,” he said.
Chief Makope said the dam was home to a mermaid which he believed was responsible for the trio’s deaths.
“We can say that they saw something that looked like a snake when in actual fact it was a mermaid.

“Most people in this area know that there is a mermaid which lives in the dam and do not usually play near the spot where it is usually found,” he said.
The chief said the bodies were retrieved after he had conducted a traditional ceremony near the dam because he strongly believed that their behaviour had angered the ancestral spirits.
“A few minutes after I appeased them, their bodies were all retrieved after the police had conducted a search for almost three hours,” Chief Makope said.
Businessman Mr Ernest Chamboko also confirmed the mermaid reports saying the area was sacred.

“The whites who used to live here used to buy a beast once in while, which they would donate to the chief for a traditional cleansing ceremony to be held here,” he said.
They would then go boat racing without incident.

“This was the first time that a boat cruised in the dam in five years, leading to such a fatal incident. I think something should have been done in terms of our tradition,” Mr Chamboko said.
Support Unit police spokesperson Inspector Charles Jack yesterday said: “The seven jumped into the boat while they were having a party before its engine ceased while in water.
“One of the four men who were in the boat dived into the water thinking that the engine had caught onto some weeds,” he said.
He said when the man jumped into the water, the boat shook before stabilising and when he was climbing back, it capsized.

“He pulled the edge of the boat and it capsized. Three men survived while the other one who had been rescued went back into the water to rescue the other woman who was drowning,” Insp Jack said.
Insp Jack said the Inland Waters Act stipulated that everyone getting into a boat should wear a lifejacket .
“From January to date the Sub Aqua Unit has attended to eight cases in which boats capsized resulting in 12 people being killed but their bodies were recovered,” he said.
Nyemba’s sister, Chipo, said she had been shocked by her brother’s death.

“Our other brother Alick was involved in an accident yesterday while he was rushing to Harare after being informed about the incident,” she said.
She said Alick was admitted at Bindura Hospital with his wife.
Meanwhile, Mpofu’s mother is reported to be critically ill in Bulawayo.

An official from the Banyana Bafana, Daniel Lunga, confirmed that Mpofu’s mother was ill. The dancing group conducted a three-day beach party at Pamvura Lodge and Club, starting from last Friday.
They were distributing flyers inviting people for the party before the fatal incident.
“Three days of party and game. Boat cruise and canoeing and many more,” reads part of the flyer.