Baby snatched by baboon

AWOMAN from West Nicholson in Gwanda district rescued her 18-month-old son from the grip of a baboon that was mauling him while dragging him away into a bush. Although baboons rarely attack human beings, with large teeth, sharp claws and amazing agility, they can be a terrifying prospect when they confront people.

Tales, however, abound of how baboons may be disrespectful towards women and children, and sometimes go as far as assaulting them in human-wildlife conflicts as the animals seek food in fields.

Ms Petronella Moyo (22) threw caution to the wind and went after a full-grown male baboon that had snatched her baby.

The animal sank its teeth into the baby twice and left him badly bruised after dragging him on the ground for about 50 metres.

The boy was admitted to Gwanda Provincial Hospital, where he received treatment and was vaccinated against rabies.

Recounting her ordeal, Ms Moyo said her child’s ear-splitting scream, as the animal attacked him, made her blood run cold.

She said maternal instinct kicked in and propelled her to chase after the animal that was dragging the baby on the ground, scrapping his skin off.

“Some baboons came to our area in the morning and neighbours made some efforts to chase them away. I was in my bedroom and my son was in the sitting room. I heard my son crying and when I checked on him, I saw a baboon holding him by the leg and fleeing.

“Without thinking, I pursued the baboon and, at the same time, I was screaming to scare it. It was dragging my son on the ground along the way and he was crying and screaming in pain. As I closed in on it, after a distance of about 50 metres, the baboon dropped my son on the ground and it fled.

“My son was seriously injured as the baboon bit him twice. He also sustained bruises from being dragged on the ground,” she said.

Ms Moyo said she was terrified on witnessing the baboon brutalising her son.

“The animal was very violent. I feared it would tear my child into pieces. However, I was determined to save him at all costs,” she said.

Ms Moyo re counte d the despair she felt as her son was admitted to hospital and doctors appeared to think his injuries were extreme.

“He got stitches to bring together the open wounds. Nurses clean the wounds and dress them every day. His condition has greatly improved and he is no longer in great pain,” she said.

Baboons, Ms Moyo said, are a menace in the area and they usually cause havoc and damage property.

A resident of Gwanda town, Mrs Angela Dube, said a baboon once snatched her baby while she was playing and threw her down shortly afterwards. She said it is no longer safe to leave her children unattended while playing.

While interacting with Ms Moyo during her visit to the Gwanda Provincial Hospital, Minister of State for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Evelyn Ndlovu said the problem of baboons requires immediate attention as it is life-threatening.

As part of measures to contain the baboon menace, officers from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority have resorted to capturing the animals using cages but that solution has not been effective. — Chronicle **********

A 70-YEAR-OLD Ugandan woman has just had twins after becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). She becomes the oldest woman in Africa to give birth, according to the hospital where she had the babies.

The Women’s Hospital International and Fertility

Centre in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said Safina Namukwaya delivered a boy and a girl.

“This story is not just about medical success; it is about the strength and resilience of the human spirit,” the hospital said on Facebook, following Namukwaya’s successful caesarean delivery.

Namukwaya told the media that it was her second delivery in three years, after she gave birth to a girl in 2020. She added she had experienced multiple difficulties during the pregnancy, including desertion by the children’s father.

“Men do not like to be told that you are carrying more than one child. Ever since I was admitted here, my man has never showed up,” she said.

Namukwaya said she did not know how she would manage to raise the children, but was happy to have them after years of enduring stigma and ridicule for being childless.

“At one time, a very young boy heckled me, saying I had been cursed by my mother to die without a child,” she said. — Wires

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A MAN from Old Lobengula suburb in Bulawayo will spend the next five years behind bars for stealing a car to impress his girlfriend.

Mbekezeli Nxumalo (23) found himself facing a 10-year jail sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of motor vehicle theft.

However, he will effectively spend five years in jail after Bulawayo regional magistrate Collet Ncube cut his sentence in half on condition he does not commit a similar offence within five years.

When passing the sentence, the court acknowledged that Nxumalo was a first-time offender, who spared them the trouble of a lengthy trial by owning up to his wrongdoing.

The magistrate also took note of Nxumalo’s remorseful demeanour during the proceedings.

During trial, Nxumalo told the court that he stole the vehicle from his drinking mate so that he would visit his lover in his rural home — Lupane.

Unfortunately for him, the car broke down before he could reach his destination.

Nxumalo said he then left the vehicle by the roadside and went to inform its owner, Heymen Khuphe (29), about what had happened.

The State provided additional context, saying Nxumalo had initially planned to steal the car and only abandoned it in Lupane due to a technical glitch.

The court was told that Nxumalo met Khuphe at a drinking spot in the city centre and they started boozing together.

The duo drank late into the night and when the time came to go their separate ways, Khuphe offered Nxumalo a ride.

Upon reaching Khuphe’s city residence, Nxumalo remained inside, seemingly asleep, while Khuphe briefly left the car with the keys in the ignition.

However, on returning a few minutes later, he was met with the gut-wrenching realisation that his prized possession had vanished into thin air.

Khuphe then promptly reported the matter to the police. Subsequent investigations led to Nxumalo’s arrest, confirming Khuphe’s suspicions. — B-Metro