RANGER SHOOTS HUNTING FATHER, SON

MANZINI – A desire to have game meat for dinner has landed a father and his son on the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital beds.

Stanley Gamedze (40) and his son, John (17) were shot on Saturday around Mtimphofu, near Siphofaneni. Siphofaneni is a small agri-town in the Lubombo Region.

According to Gamedze, they had set snares on Friday night, hoping to catch game within the forests of the area; however, when they went to check on the traps they had set, they found that nothing had been trapped.
This was on Saturday morning and the place where they had set their snares is in close proximity to Mkhaya Game Reserve.

He said they returned with his son to check on their snares later on in the day and found that they had been disturbed but nothing was trapped.
Gamedze said following their inspection, they prepared to leave the area; only to be disturbed by a loud thud reverberating in the forests.

Gamedze said the loud bang was from a shot fired by a game ranger; whom he alleged was hiding in a tree.
He said one of the fired shots pierced through the right thigh of his son and missed his femur.
Following this gunshot, Gamedze said he ran for dear life and hid in a thick forest. However, this did not save him as the next gunshot fired pierced through his right arm.

Following this, he said: “I felt dizzy as blood oozed out of my arm and I lay on the ground. I then rolled on the ground for a distance from where I was shot before I got up and started running towards my home.” He said when he got to his home, he covered the torn flesh with a bandage before requesting his wife to accompany him to the nearest police station at Siphofaneni.

Shot

Gamedze said upon arrival at the police station, he reported that he had been shot and was taken to hospital. Meanwhile, he said his son was taken to hospital by the people who had shot him.

On the other hand, John said his confinement to the hospital was depriving him of attending school as he was a Grade IV pupil at Mnotfweni Primary School.
In his brief remarks, he said the bullet had been removed from his thigh while his father said: “I still feel like there is something in my arm and I have relayed this to the doctors. They have advised me to return to the x-ray to establish if there are any foreign fragments.”

Gamedze said members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) had taken their statements and nothing was relayed to them. Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that two males were shot on Saturday.
She said no charges had been laid against anyone yet as police were investigating.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: