A CHIRUNDU fisherman only identified as Kakeche of Sitinkwi village has been killed by a hippo while fishing illegally in the lower Zambezi River.
Fishermen in the lower Zambezi river have continued carrying out the fishing activities despite the annual fishing ban imposed by Government which took effect from 1st December, 2018 to 28th February, 2019.
According to Kakeche’s neighbour, Adnore Gwanda the victim had gone on a fishing spree in the company of his friend when he met his fate.
Mr. Gwanda said the other fisherman who he did not name, managed to swim to safety after the hippo attacked their dugout canoe.
Mr. Gwanda narrated that after swimming to safety, the survivor tried to swim back to rescue the victim but his effort did not materialize as the hippo became vicious.
He said the body of the victim has not yet been recovered from the hippo infested Zambezi River and that a team of village divers had since been constituted to try and retrieve the body.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gwanda appealed to Government to crop some hippos from the lower Zambezi to safeguard the lives of villagers along the river.
He said increased hippo population in the area had led to a high number of animal-human conflicts which had in many instances resulted in death of villagers.
