Widowed by crocodiles

Leonard Ncube in Binga
The husband of Ms Saliya Mungombe (66) of Siamuloba in Binga’s ward 8, was killed by crocodiles in 2010 and she says memories of his death are still fresh as his body was not recovered.

Her husband had gone to fish in the Zambezi River and what pains her is there was no closure as there was no burial.

“He left for fishing in 2010 and we never saw him again.

His body was not found and he is presumed dead but no burial was conducted which pains me a lot.

I almost committed suicide but then I felt sorry for my children.

I am still heartbroken and my pain gets deeper each time I look at them,” said Ms Mungombe.

She said after the death of her husband, things became difficult for the family and her six children were forced to drop out of school.

“We would eat boiled vegetables without insima (isitshwala) on most of the days because we had no mealie-meal,” she said.

Her three daughters got married in their teens while two sons, both below 16 years old, are working for some families in neighbouring villages.

Her eldest son Emmanuel (30) who now has five children, has joined the bandwagon of fishermen who dice with death in the crocodile-infested Zambezi River.

Ms Mungombe says she is against him fishing on the same river as this evokes memories of her late husband and she fears he might also be killed by crocodiles.

“My worry is that my eldest son is also fishing in the same river where his father was killed.

I appeal for help so that he gets something else to do which is not fishing.

He sometimes brings money but it’s not enough to sustain us.

I am old and don’t have much to live for but my children need help,” she said.

Ms Mungombe said she sometimes makes baskets for sale and also grows vegetables in her small garden on the edge of the river.

She however, says the vegetables are often destroyed by hippos and elephants.

Ms Mungombe says the other challenge is that when the river floods, their crops are swept away.

Emmanuel said it pains him that they could not find the remains of his father.

“I fish in the same river to try and help my family, mother and siblings but each time I get there I feel sad and pained by memories of my father,” he said.

The two were speaking during an interactive meeting with the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security which visited victims of human-wildlife conflict in Binga and Hwange between Monday and Thursday.

The committee members who were accompanied by officials from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) wanted to find out challenges faced by communities living in human-wildlife conflict areas.

Dozens of villagers told the committee how they lost relatives to wildlife and how others were left disabled.

Other predators in Binga are elephants, hippos, buffaloes, leopards and warthogs.

Africa’s 4th longest river, the Zambezi may have a cultural symbolism to Tonga people in Binga but the crocodiles in the river have caused untold suffering to communities.

Many have turned widows, widowers or orphans because of deaths caused by crocodiles.

The Tonga people are traditionally fishermen and have for years been complaining about being moved from the river banks to pave way for construction of Kariba Dam close to a century ago.