A 17-year-old boy has been mauled to death by dogs in Trelawney Village, 14 km southwest of Banket a development that has left people in the area terrified.
The victim, Wilson Chengetai, was working as a cowboy at the Rugezha residence, owned by one Derrick Rugezha, who has a breed of dogs numbering over 50.
On the fateful day (Tuesday), according to villagers, the late Wilson returned from his cowboy duties and decided to pick up a raincoat at Rugezha residence before walking home, since it was raining.
Upon arrival, he was viciously attacked by dogs until he breathed his last.
Due to the attack, the boy’s face was disfigured and missing both eyes when his body was taken to Banket Hospital Mourtary, according to Banket Police sources.
A villager in the area who spoke to Pindula News and asked not to be named, said Rugezha spent the night with the boy’s body before calling the police the following morning. He said:
As a community, we are still in shock. We all know that Rugezha’s dogs are dangerous. They have on several occasions killed goats in the area, but their owner says he is untouchable, hence we can’t do anything about it.
But for the dogs to then attack a human being and kill him, it’s something else. Also, Rugezha had the boy’s body in his house overnight before calling the police, which is shocking. But considering the way he boasts about having friends at Banket Police, I doubt if anything is done.
The late Wilson’s aunt, who initially did not want to publicly comment on the issue, expressed shock on the manner in which Wilson lost his life.
I’m his aunt. I have been taking care of him since his mother died in June last year. His father also died.
He has been working at the Rugezha residence for sometime. Mr Rugezha breeds all kinds of dogs, but I never expected this could happen.
In fact, I’m still not convinced on the explanation I was given with regards to circumstances leading to his death. The police just came and took the boy’s body without giving us any explanation, they just said we cannot view his body even before burial.
Rugezha is said to be a menace in the Trelawney area, with some villagers saying he once beat-up an elderly man named Maundura Muchenje for trying to stand up for villagers.
Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwe Republic Police Spokesperson Paul Nyathi were not successful as his phone was not answered.
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