7-Year-Old Matusadonha Game Park Survivor To Be Temporarily Relocated For Recovery
Tinotenda Pudu, the 7-year-old boy from Kariba who was lost for four nights in the lion-infested Matusadonha Game Park late last month, has been profoundly affected by his harrowing ordeal, along with his family.
In an update on his situation on Wednesday, January 8, Mutsa Murombedzi, the Proportional Representation MP for Mashonaland West Province, revealed that she had spoken with the Mashonaland West Provincial Medical Director (PMD).
The PMD recommended that Tinotenda be temporarily relocated from his home for a few days to a calm environment, which would help facilitate his recovery process. Said Murombedzi:
The mental health team has visited the boy down in the Zambezi Valley, and begun their assessments. It has become clear that his disappearance and harrowing ordeal & encounter with big game animals in Matusadona game park, deep in the Zambezi Valley has deeply affected not only him but also his family.
As part of their recommendations, the team has decided to temporarily move Tinotenda and his mother away from their home for a few days to provide them with a safer & calmer environment to prevent people from disturbing the recovery process.
Additionally, the mental health team will return and be stationed in the community for not less than seven days to continue providing support and monitoring the boy’s & family’s progress.
With schools reopening soon, they will also engage the school authorities to ensure that when Tinotenda comes back to school, no interviews or discussions take place that might retraumatize him.
The mental health team still strongly advises against conducting any interviews at this stage as it may trigger emotional distress for Tinotenda.
According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), the boy disappeared on December 27, 2024, and was found on December 31, approximately 49 kilometres from his home.
Remarkably, he survived in the game park by eating wild fruits and drinking water from a hole he dug in a dry riverbed.
After being rescued, Tinotenda was taken to a local clinic for preliminary examinations and later transferred to Siakobvu Hospital for further medical evaluations.
More: Pindula News
