By Tim Binnall
In a bizarre story out of Zimbabwe, a series of strange deaths near a bridge have been attributed to a 'mystery creature' that some suspect could be a mermaid. According to a local media report, the weirdness surrounding the Mtshabezi Bridge in the town of Gwanda began back in the 70s when several students died under unusual circumstances in the river which runs under the overpass. Apparently something of an ominous local legend since then, the site has sparked renewed interest in recent weeks following the inexplicable drowning deaths of multiple men in the community.
While these incidents, alone, are cause for concern among residents, what makes the case particularly odd is that it is believed by people living in the town that all of these deaths are due to some kind of supernatural creature which resides in the river. Specifically, some suspect that the aquatic killer is a mermaid, while others argue that this is not the case because the bodies of the victims have been retrieved. How, exactly, that fact absolves mermaids is presumably a matter of local folklore.
Be that as it may, residents of Gwanda are tired of being terrorized by whatever force is causing people to die at the bridge and have enlisted a religious figure named Prophet Moyo to help eradicate the creature. "Whatever is in the water could be luring people there in order to take lives," he mused, "if it's an act of witchcraft it could be the doing of an evil person who planted something in the water in order to gain wealth in exchange for human lives."
Lamenting that "this mystery has never been investigated thoroughly," he expressed optimism that the matter will be resolved once he visits the river and determines whether or not the deaths are being caused by witchcraft. Lest one doubt Moyo's abilities, this is not his first encounter with an unusual entity menacing a community as he was previously enlisted to eradicate goblins that were living in a schoolyard and successfully sent the creatures packing never to be seen again. Hopefully he can work some similar magic at the Mtshabezi Bridge.