US: Zim man drowns at Texas resort

The late Cloud Mhondiwa

The Lewisville Fire Department recovered his body on Sunday morning.

Cich Ganbhle, a friend who was with him at the lake, said he last saw Mhondiwa sitting on the ledge of a rented boat with two women.

They had been on the boat at Party Cove for an hour or two when the women who had been sitting with Mhondiwa told a friend on the boat that he had jumped into the lake and stayed underwater for more than 30 seconds.

The friend jumped in and looked for Mhondiwa and then called for others to help search.

Ganbhle said someone on the boat called 911 while he and several other men jumped in the lake to look for Mhondiwa.

“We swam under the boat and tried to swim deep down, but the water was murky and we couldn’t find anything,” Ganbhle said.

Daron Blackerby, Denton County game warden, said the Lewisville Fire Department and game wardens got the call around 8:10 p.m. and used boats equipped with sonar scanners to search for Mhondiwa until 9:45 before calling off the search for the night.

They returned on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. and recovered the body around 11:15 am

Ganbhle said Mhondiwa did not know how to swim well. He had probably had two alcoholic drinks but didn’t seem intoxicated.

“Just a few hours before … we were, I mean, he was sitting there Snapchatting and dancing and just having fun. I mean he was probably one of the greatest persons you could have,” Ganbhle said.

“Being a single father, he lived with his son, and he was an extremely responsible father.” Mhondiwa’s 14-year-old son was not present when he drowned.

Edward Mutenure said he and Mhondiwa were best friends and that they grew up together in Zimbabwe.

Mhondiwa immigrated to the U.S. in 1998 to attend high school.

“He was a fun-loving guy,” said Mutenure.

“Very kind to everybody. He had three beautiful kids. Two daughters and one son. A good father. A good person.”

Mhondiwa, divorced, has one daughter, 16, in Zimbabwe, and one daughter, 10, who lives in the U.S. with her mother.

Mutenure started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the family travel costs and funeral arrangements. The campaign will help send his two children who are in the U.S. to Zimbabwe for the service.

“His parents in Zimbabwe want to bring their son home to be laid to rest.

“We are appealing for your support to repatriate his body to his parents and family in Zimbabwe,” reads the GoFundMe page.