A form four student from Nkulumane in Bulawayo drank himself to death this weekend. Brandon Zimba is reported to have died after consuming too much alcohol at a vuzu party held over the weekend. The pupil’s death was confirmed by Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube who said investigations were still ongoing.

His grief-stricken mother blamed his son’s drinking on peer pressure.

Never at any point in my life did I ever imagine that my child would drink himself to death. Growing up, he was obedient and brilliant in school…

At the new school, I started receiving reports that he had started drinking. The elders who stayed with him would sit him down and each time he apologised and promised to change.

She also blamed the economic situation in Zimbabwe for breaking up her family. Mrs Zimba was forced to go to South Africa to look for work so as to be able to take care of her family.

I keep asking myself if the situation would have been different had I stayed home and taken care of my children. But I am living in South Africa to work and fend for my children. I did all I could for him as a single parent.

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