The Sunday Mail
Xavier Bende Murota went missing on October 3. His remains were found 11 days later, most of the flesh devoured by vultures.
Known for long as a lone fisherman, how Murota met his fate has left residents of Chapoto Village puzzled. Could it have been a wounded buffalo that gored him to death? Or was it a charging bull elephant?
This is just one of the many human-wildlife conflict stories commonplace in Kanyemba.
The most common story is of how villagers, especially the Doma people, leave their homes to stay in the river bed of Mwazamutanda to protect their crops from wild animals.
The snaring of wild animals is part of the human-wildlife conflict.
Because of the moisture and humus in the river bed, the villagers argue, they can crop throughout the year. This is the same river bed where buffalo, elephant and hippo rummage for foliage, and also acts as a corridor for animals going to the Zambezi River to quench their thirst. Charles Jabesi, an aide to Chief Chapoto who previously worked as a game scout, said the villagers sometimes beat drums to scare away animals.
Deforestation is another area where the villagers are clashing with wildlife. Because the villagers use old-fashioned farming methods, they resort to clearing “virgin” land, thereby encroaching into land that would otherwise be grazing land for animals.
“The problem we have here,” agrees Chief Chapoto, “is when villagers, especially the Doma people, trap animals using snares.
“If a buffalo gets entangled in that snare, once it releases itself, it means trouble for anyone it meets on the way.
“That is one theory on how Murota might have met his death. We have had a number of buffaloes being caught in snares and in one instance, the buffalo had to be taken down.”
Another cause for the human-animal conflict could the transition from Campfire benefits. In the old days, each household would receive a direct cash payment from the proceeds from hunting concessions. This has since been changed and the money is allocated to community programmes.
“With the allocation from Campfire, we have managed to build a house for an extension officer, service our tractor, buy computers for the Campfire office, service community boreholes as well as offer funeral assistance to villagers,” explains Chief Chapoto. Though villagers did not, and could not, open up on the snaring of animals, there is suspicion that some might not see value in the community benefits, rather preferring personal gain. Most of the blame is heaped on the Doma people, who until recently led a nomadic lifestyle and survived on hunting and gathering.
“They used to survive on manyanya (tree roots), honey gathering and hunting animals and it has taken a lot of campaigns and education to let them understand that the animals are not to be killed. That it is a crime to kill the animals,” says the chief.
