Nurse Trampled To Death By Elephant While Walking To Church In Kariba

A nurse at Kariba District Hospital was tragically killed by an elephant on Sunday morning while walking to church with her three children.

According to Mashonaland West Member of Parliament Mutsa Murombedzi (CCC), the late Gloria Konde reportedly fell into a ditch while fleeing from the elephant.

The animal then caught up with her, trampled, dragged, and killed her before throwing her further down the valley. Murombedzi posted on X:

“We woke up to heartbreaking news. Human-Wildlife conflict has claimed a dedicated worker at Kariba District Hospital.

“Gloria Konde was trampled to death by an elephant this morning in the Heights suburb. She was walking to church with her three children.

“She was dragged, trampled & killed in plain sight of her children. Human Wildlife Conflict in Kariba has escalated into a deadly crisis. Our thoughts go out to her family during this very difficult time…

“The report that we got is that she fell into a ditch while running away from the elephant, and it caught up with her, trampled, dragged, killed and threw her further down the valley. It is such a sad incident.”

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is especially common in areas near national parks and game reserves, including Hwange, Kariba, Mbire, and the Save Valley Conservancy.

HEC is one of the leading causes of human deaths from wildlife encounters. According to Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), 18 people lost their lives in wildlife-related incidents in the first quarter of 2025 alone, adding to more than 300 deaths over the past five years.

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