In a distressing incident in Buliisa district, western Uganda, a crocodile fatally attacked a 15-year-old boy named Victor Byamani. He and three friends had ventured to Lake Albert at Kibarama landing site to collect water when the sudden and unexpected crocodile attack occurred.
Alarmed by the attack, Victor’s friends rushed back home, calling for assistance from the residents. Sadly, by the time help arrived, it was too late to save Victor, as the crocodile had already taken his life and disappeared into the lake with his body.
This incident is not isolated, as the region has seen previous crocodile attacks. Earlier in the same year, a 72-year-old man fell victim to a crocodile attack in Lake Albert in Hoima district. In April 2020, a 20-year-old man suffered a similar fate in Lake Albert in Buliisa district.
Additionally, crocodile attacks have occurred in the region in the past. In July 2018, an 18-year-old named Maureen Vicky was severely injured by a crocodile in Kiryamboga landing site, Hoima district, while collecting firewood. In July 2019, 24-year-old Christine Nema, a resident of Rwebigongoro landing site in Kagadi district, lost her life in a fatal crocodile attack while washing clothes on the lake’s shores.
Editor’s Note: Concerns have been raised about the role of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in addressing such incidents, with suggestions for better coexistence between humans and wildlife. In some regions, strategies like isolating these reptiles in their natural habitats have been successfully implemented, similar to the practices in wild marshes of Florida, USA, where crocodiles are farmed for meat consumption. In Africa, such meat is often referred to as bushmeat.
