Crocodile victim who lost leg says he would rather be dead

A man who lost his right leg following a crocodile attack says he would rather be dead than have to adjust to his new reality.

Sitamwela Mualuka (30) was attacked on the banks of the Linyanti River in the Batubaja area in the Zambezi region while fishing with a friend on Monday at around 02h00.

He is currently recovering at the Katima Mulilo District Hospital, and his condition is stable.

Speaking to The Namibian from his hospital bed on Wednesday, he said he was sitting in the canoe when he was viciously attacked.

Mualuka said he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his right leg as he was about to reach the river bank, and realised in that moment that half his upper thigh was caught in the mouth of a huge crocodile.

“It happened so suddenly.

“All I felt was excruciating pain. My friend tried to hit it with a paddle stick in an attempt to get it off me.

“However, that only made it aggressive, as it started swinging my leg in its mouth.

“I then gathered my last strength to kick it in the eyes with my left leg. It’s only then that it let go of my thigh, but with the rest of my leg,” he said.

Mualuka said all he could think of during the attack was that he was going to die without saying goodbye to his loved ones.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes. However, looking at the current situation of not having my leg, I would have preferred to die.

“I was surviving by fishing and doing odd jobs around the villages. How will I be able to do that now?

“I have three children to take care of as well,” he said.

Senior nurse manager Daniel Simataa says Mualuka was lucky to get help immediately after the attack, since he could have bled to death.

“We managed to save what’s left of his leg through amputation. He is receiving further medical attention to aid his healing process, and afterwards he will be eligible for a prosthetic leg,” he says.

Simataa says the hospital often treat patients who have been atttacked by wildlife, and their survival rate depends on how fast they get assistance.

He urges the family members of those who have been attacked to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda this week confirmed that the ministry is aware of the incident and described it as regrettable.

“We really do not want to see such attacks – especially after our recent national human-wildlife conflict conference.

“It is even more unfortunate that he won’t be able to be compensated as he is a Zambian national, and our national human-wildlife conflict policy has no provision for foreign nationals.

“However, we sympathise with him and hope he gets the necessary medical attention to recover,” he said.