By Business Reporter| Perhaps not a good sign of governance – the New Dispensation has seen the sudden raiding and smuggling of rhinos from the southern region.

Barely two months after the Njelele shrine was bombed, the sacred property has been raided and robbed of her animals.

So far National Parks officers dispatched from Harare have taken away 4 females, 1 young male from Njelele, and 5 from Lake Kyle.

By Friday evening, the operations were still in progress and Matobo tour operators denied access to the Njelele valley.

ZimEye toured the park Friday and witnessed the heavy presence of National Parks officials.

ZimEye is visiting the park once again Saturday to investigate on progress.

Efforts to obtain a comment from the Department for National Parks were fruitless at the time of printing.

The Department Of National Parks used to operate independently. However, its directors were earlier this year suddenly fired by the minister of environment and tourism, Oppah Muchinguri who made claims that they had usurped ministerial powers. Critics say by firing them, she was simply moving the department under her armpits.

In July, the shrine was bombed. A source and villager from Matobo said the shrine the attack was discovered by the shrine caretaker Solifa Ncube the following morning.

“Njelele Shrine has been bombed. Khulu (Solifa Ncube) said he left all in order at the shrine. I went on Saturday and we discovered that the rock, which covers the shrine, was bombed using mining explosives. They also destroyed the pots in the shrine and looted most of the traditional artefacts which were stored in the shrine,” he said.

“They went inside the cave and destroyed the pots and also put explosives, destroying the stuff inside. Khulu said during the week, he found salt sprinkled all over the shrine and there are a lot of men from apostolic sects who are claiming to be praying on Matobo mountains and we wonder if it’s only in Matobo where there are mountains. Our tradition and culture is being destroyed in front of us.”

The source said the incident was reported to the police and when they left the shrine, the detectives were investigating the matter.

Ncube confirmed the incident indicating that the desecration and attack on the shrine was a serious attack on the local and national traditional culture and values.