Female Security Guard Killed By Elephant In Hwange Was Alone At Night, And Had No Firearm Or Radio - Maguwu
The 30-year-old female security guard who died following an attack by an elephant while at work in Hwange on Friday was not equipped to safely discharge her duties, it has emerged.
The now-deceased Lydia Dube was deployed alone at night without a firearm or a radio communication system.
This was said by Farai Maguwu, the founding Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG). He posted on X Sunday:
Lydia Dube (30), was tragically killed by an elephant whilst guarding a broken down crane at Chaba mine in Hwange yesterday.
She was deployed alone at night without a firearm. She also did not have a radio communication system. Perhaps they wanted her to defend the machine with her body.
She is survived by her daughter. Human-wildlife conflict is now rife in Hwange due to various factors which may include climate change and mining near national parks.
According to a report by The Sunday News, Lydia Dube was pronounced dead on arrival at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo on Saturday after being transferred from Hwange Colliery Hospital.
The killer elephant has since been put down by Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management (Zimparks) rangers.
A source was quoted as saying Dube who was employed as a security guard was on duty where she was guarding a broken-down crane at Chaba Mine. Said the source:
She saw an elephant a distance away and disembarked from the machine she was guarding to go to the guard room.
Unbeknown to her, there was an elephant lurking behind her that attacked her before she got to the guard room leaving her for dead.
She was discovered still alive but seriously injured.
Dube was reportedly rushed to Hwange Colliery Hospital where her condition deteriorated before being transferred to Mpilo where she succumbed to the injuries on arrival.
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