Home Community Valentine’s Day beer-drink tragedy as man is killed, devoured by lone hyena

Valentine’s Day beer-drink tragedy as man is killed, devoured by lone hyena

by Kudakwashe Vhenge

By Staff Reporter


HWANGE – A late-night binge that spilled into Valentine’s Day ended in tragedy for a 33-year-old man from Cross Dete in Hwange district after he was savagely killed and devoured by a lone hyena while walking home.


The deceased was last seen on Saturday evening imbibing well into the night, only for his partial remains and a beer bottle to be found along the way in the morning.


“I can confirm that Jealous Doubt Dube of Dopota village under chief Nelukoba was on 14 February attacked by a hyena and his body was discovered on Sunday at around 9 am,” Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Glory Banda said by telephone.


Officers from a local police station scoured the area together with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) rangers, Banda said.

The two departments are, however, issuing conflicting accounts with ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo claiming their own investigations indicate the man was already dead when the hyena feasted on his body.


Without elaborating, Farawo referred further questions to the police but Banda told ZimLive there was no evidence to back the Zimparks claims.


Banda said the hyenas’ trail took trackers deep into the woods and led them to Dube’s remains and the killer scavenger.


“They followed the spoors and blood stains for a distance of about 500 meters. They noted torn clothes which Khumalo Ndlovu a male aged 48 years under Chief Nelukuba identified as that of his brother Jealous Doubt Dube,” the police spokesperson added.


“They went further into the forest for a distance of about 2km and saw a hyena which ran away.”


Only the upper torso of Dube’s remains was recovered, Banda said, adding, “The internal organs and legs were missing. No foul play is suspected, and the postmortem was waived by Hwange resident magistrate Barba Phiri.”
He warned people who live near the Hwange National Park to exercise caution and move in numbers to avoid attacks by stray wildlife

Related Articles