By Staff Reporter
MASVINGO – The village head at the centre of a social media storm, who was allegedly linked to a lightning strike that unlocked his clamped car in Masvingo Town on Wednesday (November 26), has denied any knowledge of the unusual event, saying he was as shocked as everyone else by what happened.
The 36-year-old, who pleaded with TellZim News not to reveal his name, said he had parked his car at Tsungai Complex on the day and only learned about the incident upon his return.
“I parked my car and went to Commercial Centre to run some errands. On my return, I was informed by a worker from Exide battery shop at Glow Service Station that my car had been struck by lightning. I rushed there, thinking it had caught fire,” he said.
When he approached the parking area, he was met by a surprising scene, people had already gathered around his car and he feared for the worst.
“When I got closer, I saw people had gathered around my car. One man picked me up and ran towards Bob’s Tavern, shouting and praising me while more people followed. I managed to free myself and went back to my car to see what had happened,” the village head said.
It was only then that he noticed his car had been clamped, though the clamp was lying on the ground.
“I removed the clamp, got in the car and started it. Since I thought the lightning had affected the car, I was happy that it started and I then drove off,” he said.
The village head told TellZim News he only later heard from witnesses that lightning had struck a brick wall on top of the building, and one of the falling bricks had hit the clamp locker, causing it to break open.
“I was equally shocked and don’t know what really happened. I only heard from people that the lightning struck a brick wall on top of the building and one brick hit the locker,” he said.
The village head denied having any confrontation with municipal officers and said he was unaware the car had been clamped until he saw the device on the ground.
“We never had any confrontation, people are lying. When I left the car I spoke to him and he said the car was safe. I usually don’t pay parking fees when I have my village head badge displayed. When I met him the next day, he said he forgot it was my car since I took some time, which is why it was clamped,” he explained.
He told TellZim News that he was a devout Christian and praising the use of black magic was like praising the works of the devil and warned people against spreading false information.
While acknowledging there might be underlying issues related to the incident, the village head said he preferred not to speculate and would comment further after proper investigation.
