A 30-year-old man has been killed in a crocodile attack on Lake Edward in Kasese district.
The deceased, identified as Andres Mumbere, was a resident of Rwenjubu Ward in Katwe-Kabatoro town council. It is reported that on April 19, Mumbere had gone fishing on the lake when a crocodile suddenly emerged from the water and attacked him.
According to Robert Agumywa, a fellow fisherman at Lake Edward, Mumbere raised an alarm during the attack. However, other fishermen were too far away to come to his rescue in time.
Nelson Tumushime, the Rwenzori East police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said that police, working together with local fishermen, later managed to retrieve Mumbere’s body from the lake. He added that several body parts, including Mumbere’s arms and legs, were missing by the time the body was recovered.
“The fishermen at the lake have been advised to avoid fishing in crocodile breeding zones along the shores of Lake Edward,” Tumushime cautioned.
He also noted that the police marine unit will continue conducting patrols on the lake, both to enhance the safety of fishermen and to deter illegal fishing activities. This tragic incident is not isolated.
In October last year, another fisherman, Kule Felex Gaddafi, aged 28, was killed by a crocodile in a similar attack while fishing in the same area. Authorities are urging the fishing community to exercise extreme caution while working on the lake, particularly near areas known to be crocodile habitats.
Most probably these are wild crocodiles that seem not to have enough food to eat. More scientific studies need to be done to discourage these carnivorous animals to attack humans. By the way, one sees thousands of crocodiles in Australia being farmed for meat consumption and making expensive leather from crocodile skin!
RIP. That said, why on earth do Africans still have lakes, falls, rivers, etc going by western names (Lake Albert etc)? No wonder, rarely do other people think highly of anyone from Africa. It’s that failure to demonstrate pride in anything. If natural resources cannot be renamed with African names, what can an African do? It’s painful.