On Sunday night, a fisherman in the rural district of Lumezi in Eastern Province found himself in the painful grip of a lion’s premolars and molars teeth but somehow, miraculously survived to share the tale of his terrifying experience.
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Following the ferocious attack, 54-year-old Steven Nkhoma of Chitungulu Chiefdom in Lumimba Ward sustained injuries that, thankfully, proved to be superficial and were swiftly treated by medics at Chitungulu Health Centre, who then referred him to Lumezi Mission Hospital for additional care and observation.
Nkhoma is now said to be in a stable condition but remains admitted to the health facility where he is sharing the harrowing story of his survival with hospital staff, fellow patients and curious villagers that flocking there nonstop to hear the story firsthand.
According ZANIS reporter, Patrick Soko, the attack happened in the early hours of Sunday when Nkhoma fell asleep after two days of continuous fishing on the Luangwa river.
In need of rest, Nkoma found some place near the banks of the river and quickly drifted away into dreamland.
But as he was snoring, he felt a sharp piercing pain to his hand but remained asleep believing it was just some wizard on some quick night duty to torment some sleeping mortals as usual.
But when the the pain persisted, Nkhoma jumped back to life only find himself in the firm grip of a hungry lion dragging him to its dinner place where it would marinate and eventually devour him.
Unlike the biblical Samson that used his well-tonned biceps, triceps and chest to wrestle and kill a lion, Nkhoma decided to use his hoarse voice to the kill the beast.
The fisherman is said to have screamed so loud that his scream pierced through the silence of the night and managed to awaken his brother who came through and managed to ward off the lion.
“There are plenty of lions and wild animals here, but they usually pass us by. I think the lion took advantage of my exhaustion,” Nkhoma told ZANIS as he recounted the attack.
He revealed that another person had survived an attack from the same lion a few weeks ago.
According to ZANIS, Nkhoma’s attack marks the third human-wildlife conflict case attended to by Lumezi Mission Hospital having recently attended to two other cases which involved hyena attacks involving a child and an adult.
Kalemba May 20, 2025