The
specific
herbicide
involved
is
still
undergoing
verification
by
experts.
According
to
Nelson
Mohadi,
the
senior
village
head
of
Mutetenwa,
fish
in
the
stream
have
begun
to
die,
and
a
donkey
that
drank
from
the
river
succumbed
to
the
poison
on
the
same
day.
Said
Mohadi:
The
community
is
in
panic
mode
following
this
incident
and
we
have
since
notified
the
police
and
the
local
Civil
Protection
Committee
about
the
incident.In
the
interim,
we
advise
villagers
not
to
drink
or
use
the
water
from
domestic
chores
until
tests
from
the
Civil
Protection
Committee
confirm
the
extent
of
the
damage.
Kraal
head
Siphiwe
Muleya,
from
the
Tshambudzi
area
where
the
boy
resides,
said
that
local
authorities
are
working
with
the
police
to
determine
the
motive
behind
the
incident.
She
further
urged
all
community
members
to
rely
on
borehole
water
and
refrain
from
fishing
in
the
river
until
the
situation
is
fully
resolved.
She
said:
We
picked
up
the
container
of
the
herbicide
which
we
have
given
to
agriculture
experts
to
verify
and
will
also
help
in
investigations.The
police
are
now
handling
the
matter
and
the
parents
of
the
same
boy
have
since
been
notified
about
this
worrying
incident.
She
said
the
dead
fish
from
the
river
had
been
buried
to
prevent
any
risk
of
human
consumption.
Added
Chibi:
We
are
already
moving
around
villages
warning
people
about
the
danger
from
the
herbicide
that
was
poured
into
the
river.At
the
same
time,
I
want
to
strongly
encourage
community
members
to
avoid
drinking
water
or
fishing
from
this
river
until
it
has
been
confirmed
to
be
safe
by
experts.
A
communal
farmer
in
the
La
Tenis
area,
Nyelisani
Sibanda,
said
she
immediately
alerted
the
local
traditional
leaders
after
noting
the
river
had
turned
purple.
She
said:
I
was
working
in
my
field
which
is
just
close
to
the
river
and
when
I
came
here
to
get
water
it
had
turned
purple.A
few
minutes
later
some
fish
were
dying
on
their
own.
I
immediately
called
the
local
traditional
leaders
who
then
informed
the
rest
of
the
community
leaders
about
this
incident.
They
then
said
that
we
must
not
drink
or
fetch
water
from
the
river.We
chased
away
some
livestock
that
were
drinking
water
from
this
point,
unfortunately,
one
donkey
died
near
our
business
centre.
Police
Officer
Commanding
Beitbridge
District
Chief
Superintendent
Melusi
Ncube
said
they
sent
a
team
to
investigate
the
matter,
which
is
working
with
the
Civil
Protection
Committee
members.