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Boitumelo Makhurane, Chronicle Reporter
THE community of Kensington on the outskirts of Bulawayo has taken Zesa to task following the electrocution of a local girl (7) after she came into contact with a low-lying overhead live wire.

Residents yesterday described a horrendous scene as the girl was burnt.

The power cable hung loosely from tree branches for almost a week, exposing both human beings and animals to danger. Residents said despite informing Zesa about the hazardous cable, they turned a deaf ear and only showed up after the tragedy.

Simelokuhle Ncube, who is set to be buried today was electrocuted on Monday shortly after 10AM. She was in the company of her friends on their way to the local shops when they came upon the live wire hanging loosely across the road.

Simelokuhle’s friends managed to jump over the cable, but she opted to touch it resulting in her being electrocuted.

When a Chronicle news crew visited the scene of the incident yesterday, Zesa electricians had already fixed the problem.

However, residents had no kind words for the parastatal and accused the power utility of gross negligence.

Neighbours narrated how they witnessed Simelokuhle being burnt by the high voltage line.

“It was a gruesome sight. We watched helplessly as the girl was burnt to death. After she got electrocuted, we only saw smoke coming from her hands and feet as they were on fire,” said a witness, Ms Monica Ndlovu.

“She froze in that position and got stuck in the tree. We could not do anything until a neighbour used a tree branch to remove the body which was stuck on the live wire.”

Simelokuhle’s mother, Ms Brenda Ndiweni (24) grappled with emotions as she narrated the events leading to her daughter’s death.

“I had just arrived home from the shops where I had gone to buy cooking oil when my daughter’s friends came and informed me about Simelokuhle’s death. In fact, my daughter had accompanied her friends who had been sent to the shops to buy sugar when they came across a low-lying live cable on the road,” she said.

“Her peers jumped over the wire, but it seems my daughter insisted on touching it so that she could pass through resulting in her being electrocuted.”

Ms Ndiweni said upon arrival at the scene, she found her daughter lying on the ground covered with a blanket.

“I was so devastated and could not control my emotions when I saw my only daughter lying dead with a blanket covering her body. She was a very obedient child who respected elders and it is going to take some time for me to heal from this wound,” she said.

“Simelokuhle stayed in Gwanda with her grandmother and she had visited me here in Kensington since the schools are closed due the lockdown.”

Simelokuhle’s grandfather, Mr Anderson Thintitha, said he was shocked by her sudden death.

“We were working in the field when we received the news of the untimely death of Simelokuhle. What is more worrying is that we had reported this matter to Zesa about a week ago, but they kept procrastinating until this tragedy,” he said.

“This is a tragedy for the whole community as Simelokuhle was everyone’s child.”

Kensington Residents Association chairperson, Mr Lenard Mhlanga accused Zesa of negligence and urged the deceased’s family to take legal action against the power utility.

He said a report was made on time, but Zesa electricians did not take any action until tragedy struck.

“A report was made by residents on Tuesday last week, but the Zesa people ignored. Had they attended to this fault, which was reported on time, this accident would not have occurred’, said Mr Mhlanga.

“We have raised concerns on similar issues, but it appears there is negligence on the part of Zesa as they take time to attend to such reports. We are really disappointed with the manner in which they handle such life-threatening matters.”