John Muyamba
Divundu-A 27-year-old woman was caught and killed by a crocodile at Divundu in Mukwe Constituency last Thursday at around 16h30. She has been identified as Johanna Rumono Maghoma, a former resident of Divundu.
Residents of the newly proclaimed Divundu village still depend on the river for washing and drinking water, as well as bathing and still face signficant risks from crocodiles.
Despite having a new water plant constructed by Namwater to provide potable water to residents and nearby villages the council hasnot yet done their part to connect water lines to households, according to CEO Athanasius Maghumbo, who said the council had not yet hired plumbers to do the job.
The water purification plant was already commissioned early last year and water was supposed to be available to households to save lives, especially from crocodile attacks, but the village council has not yet connected households to the new water plant to date.
“We are rushing our recruitment process, so that by the end of March we can have our plumbers to connect our residents to the new water plant, which has been constructed by Namwater in Divundu, so that potable water can be available for everyone,” Maghumbo said in a recent interview.
In the recent crocodile attack the victim went to the river to wash her clothes. The police here have been searching for her body since the attack, but have not yet found her. The police will meanwhile continue the search.
On February 2, a mentally ill eight-year-old girl was killed by a crocodile in Divundu and the police only discovered her partially devoured body on an island in the Kavango River several days after the attack.