By Admore Mbonda
Kariba—What began as a heated domestic dispute turned into a brush with death for 22-year-old Enny Mpofu, who survived a heart-stopping encounter with a lion late Saturday night—all while chasing her husband through the darkness.
The ordeal started with a five-hour argument between Mpofu and her husband, Walter Gonhi. When he stormed out of their home around 11 PM, an enraged Mpofu ran after him, following him across a bridge and into the bush. But instead of finding her husband, she came face-to-face with a lioness.
“I was in shock—there, right in front of me, was this huge lion,” Mpofu recounted, her voice trembling. “I ran for my life, and the lion actually seemed scared too. It rolled away, and that’s when I realized—I had started my menstruation.”
Terrified and alone, she sprinted to a nearby Church of Christ, where she pounded on the caretaker’s door until it gave way. “I was shaking so badly,” she said.
Though offered a place to sleep in the dining area, she insisted on staying in the family’s bedroom, too shaken to be alone.
The next morning, still in distress, she went to her in-laws’ home, hoping to find Walter—but he was nowhere to be seen.
Fearing the worst, she alerted the police and park rangers, who scoured the area. They found lion tracks but no blood or signs of a struggle, confirming Mpofu’s miraculous escape.
Hours later, Walter finally called. “Hearing his voice was the biggest relief,” she said, exhaling deeply. “After everything—the fight, the lion, the fear—just knowing he was alive made me break down.”
The incident has left Mpofu shaken but reflective.
“This experience has changed me,” she admitted. “I don’t know if it was luck, fate, or something else, but I won’t take life for granted again.”
Authorities are now patrolling the area for signs of the lion while urging residents to remain cautious. As for Mpofu, she’s just grateful to be alive—and to have a second chance with the husband she chased into the night.
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