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Rumbidzai Ngwenya Features Writer
February 2, 2018, will forever be ingrained in the mind of Takawira Marume (55) from Mudetsa Village under headman Murwira in Buhera.

It’s a day that he will never forget.

The day started like any normal one.

It was on a Thursday, around 2pm when Marume and his wife decided to go to Matarutse Village just across Nyazvidzi River to buy stationery for their children.

On this day the couple never thought about the risks of crossing the Nyazvidzi River.

They crossed the river without any problem on their way to Matarutse.

But on their return, tragedy struck.

Two hours later, on their way back, Mrs Marume leading the way, safely crossed whilst her husband remained behind untying his shoes.

He got into the water and walked slowly towards his wife before he suddenly felt a sharp piercing pain on his left leg.

It was the grip of a crocodile, it snatched him and he fell into the river.

The crocodile dragged him into the water where a desperate struggle for survival began.

The Buhera man and the crocodile battled it out for about five minutes.

It was a game of life and death. The vicious reptile wanted its prey while Marume was desperate for life.

The growling, low and menacing crocodile tugged at his left leg before moving to the right leg and later his upper body.

The predator rolled and turned, tightening its grip on him.

“It all happened so fast,” Marume said.

“I could feel its jaws yanking on my flesh.”

Without thinking, he shoved his left hand into the crocodile’s mouth, at the risk of losing his hand, to chock the predator.

It was a desperate move to cling on to dear life.

“In a moment like this you don’t think, it is the instinct of survival that takes over,” the Buhera villager said.

“It is either I was going to risk losing my hand or my life, so I found my hand in the crocodile’s mouth.

“I just had this strong desire to live.”

It’s rotten breath is something he still clearly remembers.

The minutes crawled by like hours.

He grabbed and pulled the crocodile’s throat until it felt the pain and it let him go.

Blood oozed from his legs and Nyazvidzi waters turned red.

Meanwhile, Marume’s wife was screaming helplessly for help.

She yelled out for help.

The predator almost preyed on her husband right before her eyes, a sight that is going to haunt her for life.

From a distance, herdsmen, fishermen and farmers heard the cries and rushed to the place, but by the time they arrived, Marume had already fought his own battle and miraculously won.

They drew him out of what could have been his last bath to the ground.

He was quickly rushed to Murambinda District Hospital where he is still recovering.

Marume had lost a lot of blood and was in a critical condition.

He has been in the hospital for more than a month now.

Nyazvidzi is infested with crocodiles mainly during the rainy season.

Crocodiles move freely upstream from far away places making the river a death trap.

Villagers always risk crossing the river going to neighbouring villages as there is no bridge that links Mudetse and Matarutse villagers.

Villagers have also lost their livestock to crocdiles.

Although he is recovering well from the crocodile attack, he still faces a financial one which he feels he may not be lucky enough to win it alone this time.

Marume needs help.

His hospital bill has gone over the roof as the hospital is charging him five dollars per night.

“I have been here for more than a month and the hospital charges fives dollars for every night spent in hospital,” he said.

“I do not know how l will be able to pay for that.”

In addition to this bill, he needs medication, something which has added to his financial woes.

During the time he has been hospitalised he was also receiving drugs from the hospital pharmacy on credit.

His debts are mounting.

“I did not have money to buy drugs from the beginning and was receiving drugs on credit.

“Each day I spent here piles my debt,” he said.

Although he is recovering well, it’s the mounting debts that are worrying him a lot.

Marume is an unemployed rural man, who lives well below the poverty datum line.

It will be a miracle for him to raise the money for the bill.

“I am pleading with well-wishers and the Government to help me cover up my hospital bills because I do not have any other way to raise such amount money,” he said.

“I have been through a lot already, all I wish is to get better and be with my family.”

Crocodile attacks are common in Africa.

Many cases go unreported owing to poor documentation.

Many people depend on rivers for their livelihood. They have no choice, but to depend on rivers for their survival.

Crocodiles are the most dangerous water predators.

They are carnivores, they eat only meat.

They do not necessarily set out to hunt humans but if they happen to luckily come across one, they will not discriminate.

Their formidable jaws can snap human bones like twigs.

These vicious hunters are opportunistic predators. To them any animal that moves is fair game.

They can even hunt on land close to the river.

Crocodiles attack for food but sometimes as revenge when they are disturbed.

They clamp down on their prey with their massive jaws, crush it, and then they will swallow the prey whole. They do not have the capability to chew or break off small pieces of food like other animals

If one gets attacked by a crocodile there are some options that can save their lives. One can thrust their fingers in its eyes or hit it on the nose, as both are sensitive areas. If there is something to put down its throat, it might cause it to gag and release you, just as Marume did.

It is a miracle that he survived.

He lives with scars to tell his story.