Mr Phillip Neluvhola (57), who had a close encounter with a big crocodile at Damani Dam a few years ago, has joined other residents from Tshiseluselu and the surrounding villages in their call to have this dangerous dam fenced off.
Since the dam was built more than 20 years ago, at least seven people, including Zimbabwean citizens, have been attacked and killed by crocodiles at the dam. In 2018, an 11-year-old boy from Tshiseluselu village was washing clothes in the dam with his friends when a crocodile suddenly emerged from the water and attacked him. The boy was dragged into the water and his body was never found.
In Neluvhola's case, he said, he had been bathing at the corner of the dam on the day he had nearly been attacked by a crocodile. "I heard cattle farmers shouting that there was a crocodile running towards me, but before I could turn around to see what was happening, the creature hit me from behind and jumped over my head into the dam. The next moment, it turned back towards me, but I jumped and ran as fast as I could to where the cattle herders were standing, shocked senseless by what was happening."
Neluvhola said accepting that the government was not doing anything to protect them, even though they knew how dangerous the crocodile-infested dam was to the local villagers, was hard. "How many more people have to die for the dam to be fenced off?" he asked.
This newspaper's attempt to get a comment from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism was unsuccessful at the time of our going to press.