KAHUKURU – A businessman intends constructing a lodge near the thorn tree that mysteriously ‘resurrected’ after it was felled by a hailstorm to accommodate frequent visitors to the site.
Known in the Rukavango language as ‘muhengeva’, the tree at Kahukuru village on the western outskirt of Rundu, fell because of strong winds and heavy rainfall in February last year but sparked the awe when it apparently rose by itself.
Three men, who were busy cutting off its branches to clear the road it was blocking, ran away in shock when the tree mysteriously ‘rose’ into an upright position again.
A local businessperson Daniel ‘Dragon’ Mukisi, whose home is a short distance from the tree, told Nampa that he had fenced off the tree and wants to set up a lodge nearby to accommodate visitors and tourists.
Mukisi said accommodation facilities are already being constructed near the site and this tree has a lot of potential as a tourist attraction.
It has not yet been established when the lodge will become operational, as construction is at an early stage. The whole initiative is centred on attracting more visitors and touring groups.
Nampa recently visited the tree and observed that it had grown tremendously with fully-grown branches.
Residents regard the tree’s ‘resurrection’ as a supernatural event and have requested government to declare it a historical site but that appears highly unlikely as a parliamentarian sparked laughter in the National Assembly when he suggested scientific research into the mysterious tree.
Also known as the ‘Lazarus tree’, in reference to the Biblical Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus, the tree gained a lot of publicity and now attracts many curious visitors and tourists who flock to the site to take pictures of themselves standing next to it.
Mukisi even employed a person to record the number of visitors. Records of visitors were however not immediately available.
Mukisi early last year requested the ministry of education to consider developing the area around the tree.
However, a chief warden in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in the Kavango region, Phillip Steyn said at the time of the incident that the tree had probably tilted upright after its branches were chopped off because the top part became lighter than the bottom which was anchored by the root system.
Despite this scientific explanation, villagers are adamant that it was a ‘supernatural’ incident. Taxi drivers also make brisk business transporting visitors to the site.
The Kavango region already has a historical tree at Kapako village, 30 kilometres west of Rundu. The Acacia Erioloba thorn tree, known in Rukavango as ‘Munyondo gwaKapande’, has a thicker than normal trunk and was declared a historical site because of its structure.
Popular belief is that a powerful drummer disappeared when he climbed into the tree while beating his drum.
Residents believe that the sound of the drum is often heard coming from the tree during harvesting time around March, which is also the month in which the drummer is said to have disappeared into the tree.
– Nampa
