The Sunday Mail
Tendai Chara
Sick, broke and heavily indebted, Mr Brighton Ndlovu (48) of Fairfield B, Somabhula, just outside Gweru, is a tormented soul.Barely eight years ago, the father-of-six was not only in the best of health but was also a successful smallholder farmer who contributed towards national food security by delivering maize to the Grain Marketing Board.
Now a pale shadow of his former self, Mr Ndlovu walks with a slight limp and occasionally coughs through inflamed lips.
The prospects of a bright future for the Ndlovu family were dashed in 2008 when a security guard manning the nearby Debshan Game Park pumped 76 shotgun pellets into the breadwinner’s body.
A long-standing feud between the resettled farmers and the owners of the wildlife sanctuary is believed to have precipitated the shooting incident.
Mr Ndlovu and other members of the community of the Fairfield community were accused of poaching.
Luckily for Mr Ndlovu, the type of gun used, a Mossberg 500, which is often used for hunting and self-defence, is not as deadly as other weapons.
Although pellets from the shotgun are less lethal than bullets, they can, however, cause serious injuries or death when fired from close range. If shot in the eye, victims can be blinded.
Of the 76 pellets, 30 were removed, with the remainder still lodged in his body eight years down the line.
According to a website that sells Mossberg shotguns, a typical magazine can spray as many as 100 pellets. Shotgun pellets are small metal spheres like ball bearings. They range from about 1mm to about 10mm in diameter. When shot, the shell breaks open, spraying the pellets in a circular pattern.
A shotgun is usually used to hunt animals or birds using pellets half the size of a pea.
After a three-month stint in hospital and a prolonged court battle — which he lost and which left him penniless — the once vibrant Mr Ndlovu is a resigned man.
Last week, The Sunday Mail Extra caught up with Mr Ndlovu in Gweru where he had gone to seek medical treatment and he narrated how the shooting has changed his life.
He is a bitter man who has lost faith in the police and judicial system. Throughout the interview, Mr Ndlovu constantly pointed out that his days are numbered.
After years of shuttling between Somabhula and Gweru, either to attend court cases or seek medical treatment, Mr Ndlovu has no more fight left in him.
“When I was discharged from hospital, I left no stone unturned since I was determined to have the culprit brought to book. But after what I went through, all I need now is peace. I am deeply concerned about how my wife and children will cope with life when I am gone,” Mr Ndlovu said.
Among one of his few remaining wishes is for him to recover, in whatever possible way, the 30 cattle that he sold to cover both medical and legal costs.
“Before I was shot, I had about 30 cattle which was a form of financial guarantee for my family. If I die today, the future of my children will be, without doubt, bleak. The medical costs left me broke. Only if I can somehow recover the cattle,” pined Mr Ndlovu.
Mr Ndlovu is also haunted by numerous debts. The lawyer that took up his case is yet to be paid four of the five cattle he charged Mr Ndlovu for services rendered.
Recently, the Messenger of Court visited Mr Ndlovu with a court order compelling him to pay the owner of the game park US$16 000 in legal costs.
Mr Ndlovu also owes the local primary school US$200 in school fees. He is also yet to pay school fees for the past three terms for his daughter who is in secondary school.
That’s not all. Doctors want US$13 000 to remove the pellets in his spinal cord and near the ribs.
He has no clue where he will get all that money.
“It seems the laws of this country work in favour of those with money. I was told I lost the case because I failed to bring any witnesses. But the truth is that I was never requested to bring the witnesses in the first place. More than 20 people were present when I was shot,” Mr Ndlovu said.
He recounted the horror of the shooting.
“Baboons from the game park were destroying our crops so we sent the children to chase them away. When the guards caught up with the children near the fence, they beat them up and shot and killed one of our dogs. The guards told the children that they were going to come for the parents,” Mr Ndlovu said.
According to Mr Ndlovu, six heavily armed guards descended on the village, assaulted and shot at villagers.
“We were gathered at Mr Peter Moyo’s homestead since we were about to embark on a tour of our fields. We wanted to select the best farmer in the area. When the guards came, they rounded us up and started beating us using the butts of their guns. We fled in different directions when the guards started firing at us,” Mr Ndlovu said. “A hail of pellets struck me and I fell and lost consciousness.”
He says he knows the man who shot him. In court, the defence maintained that the person identified by Ndlovu was not on duty that day.
“I didn’t shoot myself. I know this guy very well. He was shouting and cursing as he was shooting. I heard that after shooting me, he was promoted and transferred to Gokwe. He is living a good life whilst I am suffering. He must just own up and apologise,” added Mr Ndlovu.
Apart from the persistent coughs, he said his body itched and he often lost his appetite in addition to contending with occasional headaches.
Online sources say when a pellet is lodged in the body, it can cause lead poisoning. Anaemia is one of the symptoms of lead poisoning.
Unlike bullets which are bigger, pellets could move or migrate if they are embedded in deeper, loose tissue and get into organs or the blood stream. Such pellets may be difficult to find and remove.
“I am alive simply because God still wants me on Earth. The truth is that I am a moving grave,” concluded Mr Ndlovu.
Efforts to get a comment from Debshan management were fruitless as The Sunday Mail Extra was denied entrance into the heavily fortified game park.
