Ministry of Tourism principal public relations officer Nelly Banda has said in a statement that the deceased, of Chimutiko Village was allegedly attacked by a hyena between 19:00 and 20:00 hours on May 15, 2026, while returning home from a football match in the company of a friend.
Ms Banda said community members attempted to rescue the boy and rushed him to Ngonga Clinic, but he was pronounced dead on arrival and the body was later transferred to Lumezi Mission Hospital Mortuary for preservation and postmortem examination.
She said in a separate incident on the same evening, a two-year-old child from Mikaeli Village sustained severe head injuries after allegedly being attacked by a hyena near her home between 18:00 and 19:00 hours before her elder sister raised alarm and chased the animal into nearby bushes.
Ms Banda said Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) officers from Lundazi were immediately deployed to the affected areas to assess the situation and coordinate response measures, while control officers have since been assigned to track and eliminate the problem animal.
CREDIT: ABIGAIL CHIFUSA
/DAILY MAIL