Poacher shot

By Vincent Gono

From The Sunday News


A SUSPECTED poacher was shot and seriously injured by the police in a shootout at Matendere Range in Chiredzi after he and his gang had allegedly gunned down a rhino and taken its horn, police confirmed.
The incident occurred last week.
Police spokesperson for Masvingo Province, Inspector Tinaye Matake, told Sunday News last week that Tichaona Mutyairi and three other suspected poachers who are still at large went to Matendere Range where they killed a black rhino and took its horn.
The gun shot however alerted the game scouts in the range who rushed to the scene and found a rhino carcass that had its horn removed.
The game scouts made a report to the police and teamed up with them to track down the poachers in the range. They found the four poachers taking a rest at village 10, Mbuya Nehanda area just outside the range.
However, Insp Matake said, instead of surrendering themselves to the police, the poachers allegedly fired at the team of police and game scouts trying to stop them from advancing towards them, leading to the police firing back resulting in a fierce exchange of gunfire.
Three of the poachers who were not armed fled the scene but Mutyairi reportedly remained adamant despite calls by the police for him to surrender.
He was later shot and injured on the hand and the pelvic bone leading to his arrest and the recovery of a bag containing the rhino horn, an AK 47 Rifle that he was using and three magazines with 20 rounds of ammunition each.
Mutyairi is recovering in hospital under police guard while a manhunt has since been launched for the three other poachers who ran away.