Chiweshe’s Dam of Death

24 Jan, 2016 - 00:01 0 Views
Chiweshe’s Dam of Death Death trap. . . Mr Mike Murisa navigates the treacherous water. ( Inset) He points to the area where the three students drowned.

The Sunday Mail

Tendai Chara
January 14, 2016 will for a long time remain one of the darkest days for Chinehasha villagers in Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central province. On this day, three secondary school students lost their lives when the canoe they were using to cross the Ruya Dam capsized.

Death trap. . .  Mr Mike Murisa navigates the treacherous water. ( Inset) He points to the area where the three students drowned.

Death trap. . . Mr Mike Murisa navigates the treacherous water. ( Inset) He points to the area where the three students drowned.

Death trap. . .  Mr Mike Murisa navigates the treacherous water. ( Inset) He points to the area where the three students drowned.

Death trap. . . Mr Mike Murisa navigates the treacherous water. ( Inset) He points to the area where the three students drowned.

Adelaide Hwengwa, David Kaviya and Rutendo Chikondori, all students at Chinehasha Secondary School, drowned while Gelisha Mupandira (15) and Rangararirai Kabunze (16) survived.
The tragedy left Mr Mike Murisa, who witnessed the incident and helped rescue the duo, traumatised.
Mr Murisa’s homestead is very close to the dam.
“I interacted with these children on a daily basis. They would come here, leave their canoe at my homestead and proceed to school. They were sweet, innocent children who did not deserve to die in such a manner. I am devastated,” Mr Murisa said.
He recounted the horror of watching helplessly as one of the students drowned.
“I was working in my garden, which is less than 30 metres from the dam when I saw the canoe capsizing and the children jumping into the dam. We rushed to where we keep our speed boat. Unfortunately, we did not have the fuel to start the boat and we resorted to rowing towards the canoe.” Mr Murisa said.
According to Mr Murisa, were it not for the unavailability of fuel, the rescue team would have saved the late David Kaviya.
“Unlike Adelaide and Rutendo who jumped into the water and subsequently drowned, David fought for his life. He swam for more than 10 metres before giving up. If we had fuel that day, we would have definitely saved his life. The sight of him being submerged by the water will haunt me for the rest of my life,” added Mr Murisa.
According to locals, the dam has become a death trap and has allegedly claimed the lives of an estimated 20 people since 2006.
Two locals allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the dam whilst others drowned whilst swimming.
Mrs Elizabeth Ruwiza, a resident in the adjacent Ruwiza village, believes the dam is haunted by the spirits of those that drowned in the dam.
“In the past six years, I witnessed close to seven bodies being retrieved. What appears strange to me is the fact that locals still use this dam everyday despite the tragedies. The spirits of those that perished in the dam is attracting the living,” said Mrs Ruwiza.
According to locals, the dam was constructed by white commercial farmers in 2000.
Located at the confluence of the Ruya and Hombiri rivers, the construction of the dam cut off three villages.
Villagers from Ruwiza, Chinehasha and Chihombiri Farm can only visit each other via the dam’s treacherous waters.
And despite the recent loss of life, villagers are already back to their old ways, using old canoes to cross the dam.
A local villager who owns a speed boat charges R5 to ferry the villagers across the dam.
Most villagers, however, cannot afford the fare, resulting in them resorting to using the canoes.
In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of people that have drowned countrywide.
In 2015, two Midlands State University students drowned in separate incidents. Simbarashe Masvivi (20), a first year Law student drowned at Insukamini Dam.
The other victim, Talent Marunga (19), a first year Economics student allegedly drowned while attempting to swim in Whitewaters Dam near WhaWha Prison where he had gone with other students for a school developmental programme.
A couple of weeks ago, a 10-year-old boy, Mufaro Matemba from David Livingstone Primary School in Harare, drowned in the school’s swimming pool.
Ms Sibusisiwe Ndlovu, the Civil Protection Unit deputy director, says the agency is working flat out to make sure that such tragedies that are associated with the rain season are avoided.
“We are educating both parents and children on the dangers associated with rainfall. Posters and pamphlets are being distributed countrywide as we urge children not to risk their lives.
She, however, said the safety of children is primarily the parents’ and guardians’ responsibility.
“As a unit we are doing all we are supposed to do but children need proper parental supervision. After everything has been said and done, the buck will always stop with the parents,” Ms Ndlovu said.
Ms Ndlovu would, however, not provide the statistics regarding the number of people that have drowned since the start of the rain season.

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