Case · UFO Afrinews No 14, July 1996
In Conclusion: John C. thrown to the ground by a light at Macheke
1975 ยท Macheke, Zimbabwe
What was reported
Hind uses this old case to show why she no longer hurries to a verdict. On a cold clear night John C., a co-op clerk living near Macheke, built up his fire and went out across the road for chips. Coming round the house he was hit by a blinding light about 10 metres away above the power lines at treetop height and knocked to the ground, fully conscious yet unable to move or even roll out of the beam. He could not say how long he lay there before the light went out and all was dark; he crawled indoors on his knees to find the fire dead and the grate cold, which Hind reckoned meant at least three hours outside. Investigating, she found him unreliable, a heavy drinker and, as the local doctor confirmed, a haemophiliac; he refused a medical examination and after character reports she dismissed the case as a hoax.
What Hind made of it
Dismissed as a hoax on character grounds, but the later independent Macheke to Rusape report made her wonder; cited as a warning against hasty verdicts in either direction.
Explanation offered
Hoax (Hind's original verdict); witness a heavy drinker and haemophiliac who refused examination
In their words
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It was about 10 metres away, above the electricity wires at tree-top level. At the same time, I was thrown to the ground.
Cross references
- Motel owner followed from Macheke to Rusape, same night (14-22-1)
Connected
Macheke 1975: John Clark struck down by beam (paralysis recap)Case fileSame witness
John C. of No 14 and John Clark of No 17 are the same Macheke co-op clerk struck down by a beam above the power lines in 1975 and found with a cold grate.
JB and the intriguing tie-up with the 'Hoax'Case fileSame window
Same night, same village, roughly two hours apart: Clark saw his light at 19:30 opposite the second garage at Macheke; JB and Tony passed under the orange globe at 21:15-21:30 and noticed the garage lights unusually on. Hind had written Clark off as a hoax on character grounds; JB's later account made her hold back from verdicts in either direction.
Lights and TracksCase fileSame behaviour
A beam from above pins a rural witness who cannot move: Bunty at her front door at 02:45 in 1954/55, John Clark in his Macheke garden in 1975. Bunty had heard Hind's Women's Institute talk and Clark's case was in Hind's 1982 book, so the later telling is not sealed from the earlier.