Poachers brutally attack game scout at a ranch in the lowveld

By Tererai Karimakwenda
27 October 2005

Three A1 settlers attacked a game scout who was on light patrol duty at a lowveld ranch just outside Chiredzi last week. The game scout had been assigned the easy task of checking for snares around the property because of ill health caused by the HIV virus. But the 3 settlers he bumped into were angry because they thought he was patrolling looking for poachers. They assaulted him with a sharp chopper or knife to the head, nearly killing him.

Chiredzi farmer Gerry Whitehead told us the scout was rushed to Chiredzi hospital for treatment and released the same day. Whitehead said these types of incidents happen quite frequently but only about 25% get reported.

The lowveld area is not suited for agriculture. Any farming there would require much irrigation and A1 settlers do not have the resources nor the financing to irrigate. Whitehead said many of them turn to poaching to survive and have killed so many animals now there is very little left for them to poach.

Whitehead said he remembers how the government made many promises to these people that were resettled. But as he explains, the government never made good on any of them. They receive a small amount of maize from the government and turn to other illegal activities to survive.

Whitehead said two of the attackers were arrested but he does not know if anything has happened with them. Unfortunately, the majority of those caught poaching illegally never get punished.