Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A FORM Two pupil at Mosi-oa-Tunya Secondary School in Victoria Falls is battling for life at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after he was gored by a wounded lone buffalo in the resort town on Sunday morning.Relatives said the attack took place at around 8AM between the gorges and a railway line near the veterinary offices.
They said 14-year-old Brendon Nkomazana was fetching firewood with his elder sister, Vanessa, in the company of four neighbours when he was attacked.
Some members of an apostolic sect who were conducting a service nearby reportedly took to their heels and abandoned church when they heard Vanessa screaming for help.
The family said by yesterday afternoon, the boy was yet to be attended to despite the fact that he was still semi conscious and bleeding from the mouth.
Brendon reportedly sustained injuries under the left ear as the buffalo’s horn narrowly missed his throat.
His cousin, Cecilia Ndlovu, said Brendon was lucky to be alive.
“They left after 8AM to fetch firewood with three girls and two elderly women. They said they heard Brendon scream and shortly thereafter saw him being tossed into the air after the buffalo attacked him. He might not have seen it coming because the grass is long while trees are still green,” said Ndlovu.
She said the wounded buffalo tried to attack him again but failed because he lay still in the grass.
“It threw him into the grass and he lay there still. The buffalo looked for him and trampled everywhere but couldn’t locate him. The other members of the group hid behind some bushes watching from a distance. When the buffalo moved away after failing to locate him, they quickly hurried to where Brendon lay and carried him while calling for help,” she said.
Brendon’s uncle, Calvin Lowani Shoko, said his nephew could hardly breathe when he was rushed to Victoria Falls District Hospital.
“I was at the bus terminus when I received a call that Brendon had been attacked by a buffalo. I rushed to the bush and found that he had already been carried to hospital by a Vehicle Inspectorate Department truck. After realising that the buffalo had moved away, Vanessa ran to seek help from a nearby church but the apostolic sect members picked up their garments and fled when she told them there was a wounded buffalo nearby.
“The two elderly women who had accompanied the children to fetch firewood helped carry Brendon and were later picked by a VID vehicle which rushed him to hospital. At that time he was bleeding profusely while the neck was swollen.
“Looking at where it gored him, it narrowly missed his throat and only God knows how he survived. He could hardly breathe and they stitched him to stop the bleeding but he started bleeding from the mouth. He was given some pain killers and immediately transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital where he is admitted,” said Shoko.
Brendon’s aunt, Nyembezi Ndlovu, who accompanied him to Bulawayo, said by yesterday afternoon he had not been treated as they were told to wait for a doctor.
“We arrived at around 3PM on Sunday and he was admitted. When we arrived for the afternoon visit today (yesterday) he hadn’t been put on a drip and hadn’t eaten anything. He can hardly breathe and is still bleeding from the mouth. He is still half conscious and that’s worrying us. We only hope God will intervene and heal him,” said Ndlovu.
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers hunted down and shot the buffalo on Sunday.
The authority spokesperson, Caroline Washaya Moyo, had not responded to questions emailed to her by the time of going to press.
Last year, a man from Monde was killed by an elephant near Masue River while another was gored by a buffalo in Victoria Falls town as wild animals continue to wreak havoc.
Only last month, a 24-year-old Bulilima man escaped with severe injuries after a leopard attacked him while he was searching for donkeys in a bushy area.
Gift Moyo of Male Village in Dombodema area said the animal pounced on him from a tree. His seven dogs, which were accompanying him, saved his life as they fought the leopard off before the animal could injure him further.
Moyo’s wounds were stitched at the local Dombodema Clinic.