[1][2] Some of the children claimed that one or more creatures dressed all in black then approached and telepathically communicated to them a message with an environmental theme, frightening them and causing them to cry.
[1][2] The Fortean writer Jerome Clark has called the incident the “most remarkable close encounter of the third kind of the 1990s”.
[1][5][6] Ruwa is a small agricultural centre located 22 kilometres (14 mi) south-east of the capital Harare.
[2] Although some witnesses interpreted the fireball as a comet or meteor,[1][5] it resulted in a wave of UFO mania in Zimbabwe at the time.
The booster broke up into burning streaks as it moved silently across the sky, giving an impressive light show to millions of Africans.
[2] The BBC's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Tim Leach, visited the school on 19 September to film interviews with pupils and staff.
[2] That November, Harvard University professor of psychiatry and Pulitzer Prize-winning author[11] John Mack visited the Ariel school to interview witnesses.
[1] An eleven-year-old girl told Mack "I think they want people to know that we're actually making harm on this world and we mustn’t get too technologed [sic].
[7] Ufologists continue to cite the case as providing compelling evidence of extraterrestrial visits to Earth.
[5] Gideon Reid proposed the hypothesis of a confusion with touring puppet shows designed to promote awareness around AIDS.
[1] In 2016, witness Emily Trim exhibited paintings that she described as a "manifestation of the messages she received" from the beings that day.
[6] In June 2021, Barstool Sports writer Zah spoke in an interview about being a pupil in Ariel that day.