-follows her home
Cuthbert Mashoko
MWENEZI-Egineta Maveta (12) a Grade 6 girl pupil at Mawarure Primary School in Mwenezi is lucky to be alive after losing her right arm to a marauding crocodile during a swimming expedition that turned tragic.
The tragic incident happened on 12 March last week. According to Egineta’s mother, Fungai Musimeki, tragic struck when the girl went to the nearby Mwenezi River after coming from school to fetch water for use at home.
When Egineta arrived at the river she found other girls swimming and was tempted to join in. As soon as she jumped into the water, she fell prey to the giant reptile which wasted no time as it strated pulling her deeper into the water.
Upon realizing that their peer had been attacked by a crocodile, Egineta’s friends vanished in thin air, leaving her to fight for survival alone against the merciless crocodile.
As Egineta wrestled with the crocodile that is when the crocodile struck off her right arm, giving the brave young girl a chance to escape. As if not contend with the arm portion the predator pursued its prey outside the water.
A team of women who had tracked to the river to fetch water arrived while the crocodile was making further advances on Egineta . The women later restrained the crocodile by throwing stones on it, forcing the reptile to retreat back into the river.
Egineta’s story comes at a time when the nation’s memory is still fresh to another incident where two brave children saved their mother from the jaws of a crocodile.
A senior lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University who spoke who declined to be named for professional reasons proffered a number of stop gap measures to fight human wildlife conflict which is on the rise especially in water bodies.
She said, with an El Nino induced drought hanging on the horizon cases of human wildlife conflict are bound to be on the increase.
“In most cases it is the girl child and women who are at the receiving end, given their daily romance with the environment as they seek to fulfill their household chores which among others include fetching water, washing, gathering firewood and preparing food for the family.
It is against this background that there is need for safety nets to protect women and the girl child from predatory wildlife,” she added.
Drilling of community solar powered boreholes becomes a necessity as they are safe and lessen the burden of fetching water on the girl child and women. Washing facilities with sinks can also be constructed nearby to enable women and the girl child to wash their linen under safe conditions.
Solar powered boreholes also support nutritional gardens. This serves as a ready supply of vegetables to the girl child and women, who in most societies shoulder the burden of preparing and serving food to the family.
“Equally important is for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to hunt down these predators and put them down or take them to reserves to avoid human wildlife conflict.
“Talking about recreational facilities such as swimming pools in rural areas might sound utopian, but l think they are a necessity. Swimming is a great skill which the young people, especially the school going age should acquire in a safe environment under the watchful eye of trained personnel. That being the case, swimming pools at schools will save learners from the risks associated with swimming in rivers,” said the senior lecturer.
