Two people were killed by elephants in Victoria Falls in one week, prompting calls for urgent policy action to curb deaths from human-wildlife conflict and to protect livelihoods.
Hwange West Member of Parliament Vusumuzi Moyo took the matter to the National Assembly on Tuesday where he rose on a point of national interest and made an impassioned plea for the country to relook its policies on elephant management.
The two people were killed in separate incidents in the tourist city located inside the Victoria Falls National Park a week ago.
Moyo said the tragic deaths should spark debate about the best ways to manage Zimbabwe’s bludgeoning elephant population.
“I want to convey my message to two families within Victoria Falls. This happened within a week,” the MP said.
“They lost their lives because of this conflict. It was in a space of a week; two families are mourning the loss of their loved ones.”
He said across the country communities were increasingly under siege from escalating human and elephant conflict.
Zimbabwe has the second largest population of elephants in Africa after Botswana at 80 000 and the MP said the growing numbers of the big mammals was threatening people’s lives and their livelihoods.
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“From Kariba to Binga, from Chipinge to the tourism corridors surrounding the Victoria Falls, families are losing crops and infrastructure is being destroyed and tragically, lives continue to be lost,” Moyo added.
“Mr Speaker Sir, this House cannot ignore the cries of rural citizens, who coexist with wildlife every day.
“ It is my sincere hope that the implementation of the Parks and Wildlife Act, which was promulgated on the 28th of November in the year of the good lord of 2025, will be taken to the areas that border within national parks so that people appreciate and that the regulations can be done as fast as possible.”
The new Parks and Wildlife Management Act introduced a fund to compensate victims of human wildlife conflict, which is yet to be operationalised.
Last year, Zimbabwe recorded 62 deaths, 81 injuries and the loss of 81 livestock due to escalating human-wildlife conflict. Conflict incidents jumped by 26% from 1 654 cases in 2024 to 2 090 in 2025.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said the conflict was being fuelled by climate change and intensifying pressure on water and grazing resources.
