a nearby commercial farm on Friday evening, while trying to trap wild animals.
The fire, which was still raging at the time of going to print, quickly spread through commercial farms on both sides of the Bulawayo-Kezi Road, into the giant national park, destroying several small and crawling animals in the process.
Both Parks and Wildlife Management Authority officials and villagers who spoke to The Zimbabwean confirmed that the fire was started by war vets – notorious for their unorthodox hunting methods.
“Villagers know them and have given their names to the police for investigation. However, none of those have been picked for questioning yet. They are even seen on the road with their dogs, waiting for animals to come out so that they can kill them,” said an official.
“They usually do that. They set up their wire snares at some point and then start fire at the opposite end, so that when animals run for safety, they are trapped by the snares,” said a villager at a nearby resettlement area, who claimed to know some of the culprits.
“I cannot say right now how many animals could have been killed by the fire but my estimation is that they are many, maybe hundreds of them. Small animals and crawling creatures could have been ravaged by the fire,” said Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman, Edward Mbewe, on Monday.
Police sources at Matobo police station confirmed that names of the suspects were given to them on Saturday.
“We have six names of the suspects that were given to us by local villagers and those people are notorious poachers who have been arrested several times for the same crime. The problem is that they are well known war veterans and arresting them has in the past led to the victimisation of our bosses here at the station,” said a junior officer.
Police national spokesman, Oliver Mandipaka professed ignorance on the six suspects, but said police were still investigating the cause of the fire.
Post published in: News