The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
THREE men from Figtree area in Bulilima and a 15-year-old boy were arrested for starting a veld fire which destroyed 1 000 hectares of land at Natane Farm which belongs to a Plumtree businessman.
Among the suspects is a prophet from the United Christian Apostolic Church in Zion, Shepherd Ncube (22).
The group which comprised Enock Nyathi, Bangisani Moyo and a juvenile who are all from Manda area reportedly started the fire while improperly trying to create a fire guard at a plot.
The villagers who were supposed to appear in court yesterday were issued with summons after the prosecution pointed out that there were corrections which had to be made to the docket.
The three men are expected to appear in court tomorrow facing charges of causing a veld fire while the charges against the juvenile were withdrawn.
The councillor of the area, Simon Sibanda confirmed the incident which occurred at a farm in Manda area in Figtree area on Wednesday morning.
“I received a report on a veld fire which was started by local community members from my area. I have not gone to see the extent of damage but I was informed that a lot of land was destroyed in a farm which belongs to Mr Kikkins.
“Our homesteads are situated in resettlement areas and we normally have incidents of veld fires. In some cases the culprits flee and are never caught and the cause of the fire is never known,” said Clr Sibanda.
One of the suspects, Shepherd Ncube, said the veld fire was a result of a mistake.
He said they were in the process of building a fire guard when the fire they had started became vicious and went out of control thereby devouring a farm.
“We had been instructed as a community to build fire guards in order to protect our plots against bush fires. The method we were using was that of clearing land using fire. We started the fire as a group but we failed to control it.
“There was too much wind and the flames crossed over into the neighbouring farm. We had not anticipated that this would happen as we had done the same thing in another area and succeeded. This time around we failed to put out the fire and it just continued to spread,” said Ncube.
Lives and roperty worth thousands of dollars which include homesteads, livestock and the ecosystem have in the past been lost to veld fires.
Veld fire investigations have revealed that most fires are started by poachers, people clearing land, charcoal making, bee smoking and careless throwing away of lit cigarettes.
Veld fires are common especially in resettlement areas.
The Environmental Management Agency recently held a fire launch in the resettlement area where community members were urged to build standard fire guards as a measure of controlling the spread of veld fires.
Cases of fire outbreaks have become synonymous with the fire season which stretches from 31 July to 31 October.
In most cases the culprits are never caught.
Veld fire offences were subject to fines that vary with levels with the highest being a fine of $5 000.
