Pakistan News Story

08 January 2009 01:10 BST

Extent of Zimbabwe's food crisis exposed

A 15-year-old was choked to death by a nut of a wild fruit in rural Zimbabwe where villagers now survive on tree leaves, roots and wild fruits because of gripping food shortages.

Sifiso Dube, a student at Vungu secondary school in Lower Gweru, died on Friday after he was choked by a nut of the wild cork fruit or hacha/umkhuna

Sifiso was buried on Monday at Sivalo area in Lower Gweru. The wild fruit is now the staple food for starving villagers in Lower Gweru, among other hunger hit provinces of the country.

The fruit that is normally consumed by monkeys, donkeys and baboons can be dried up or its liquid drank after its juice is squeezed out. But the fruit if consumed daily with no substitute or change of diet causes digestive complications.

Headman Collin Mantiya confirmed that Dube was choked to death by a nut of a wild fruit.

According to Mr Mantiya, food shortages in Lower Gweru, as in other hunger stricken provinces, have reached crisis proportions with villagers now surviving on dangerous wild fruits, tree leaves and roots.

"Villagers are eating dangerous wild fruits, tree leaves and roots because of food shortages. The 15-year-old boy died after he was choked by a nut of umkhuna while numerous villagers have reported sick after eating some unknown wild fruits," said Mr Mantiya.

The food situation in the country has reached alarming proportions with villagers now surviving on wild fruits while people in the urban areas survive on one meal per day.

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary general Tendai Biti on Saturday told over 20,000 party supporters at a rally in the country's second biggest city, Bulawayo, that villagers are now competing with donkeys ands other wild animals for wild fruits.

"A serious humanitarian crisis is unfolding in our eyes. The food situation in the country has reached crisis proportions and reduced the dignity of our people who are now competing with donkeys and other wild animals for wild fruits in order to survive," Mr Biti said.

Food monitoring organisations and relief agencies say over three million Zimbabweans face starvation because of gripping food shortages. The agencies say the figure will more than double before next year's harvest in 2009.

The food situation was worsened by a ban on aid agencies in June by president Robert Mugabe who accused the organisations of using food aid as bait against starving Zimbabweans to vote against him.

The ban was only lifted after Mr Mugabe's controversial re-election in a one man June 27th run-off poll following an international outcry.

Analysts say the current food shortages, in their eighth year in succession, is the testimony of the ill effects of Mr Mugabe's chaotic land reform programme of year 2000 that turned the nation to a basket case of Africa from being the breadbasket of Africa.