Uncategorized

Villagers drown, mauled by crocodiles while fetching water from Shire River

 For promising 18-year-old Julita Masanjala, who never got her Junior Certificate of Education examination results, water had transformed from being a source of life to death.

As she awaited results of the exams, the Ngoms Private Secondary pupil drowned in Shire River.

Her dream of becoming a nurse was nipped in the bud on

the fateful day in Zalewa, Neno District, as she fetched drinking water at Malawi’s biggest river.

On July 7 2024, her mother Ethel recalls, Julita slid and fell into the river after washing clothes.

Her body was recovered three days later at Nkula Hydro-Power Station downstream.

“That day, I went with her to the river as usual to draw water and when we were done, she wanted to drink some water. She fell and we hopelessly watched her get carried away,” she said.

Ethel said there was no one to save her and it was one of the most difficult times in her life.

On the third day, the message of her discovery at Nkula was delivered to the 37-year-old mother of four.

“She is gone. We buried her at our home in Kandoje Village. It’s hard since we had no other alternative source of water and she had to go to the Shire,” Ethel said.

For Liness Listoni, February 3 last year will be a sad day in her life.

The 26-year-old mother of four went to the Shire River, like Ethel, to wash some clothes and draw water for her household chores.

As she went about her business on the banks, she was oblivious to a crocodile stalking her.

Swiftly, the reptile clutched her right hand with its conical, sharp and pointed teeth. It grabbed and pierced her wrist, mercilessly.

It could have dragged her, as some prey, into the river for day’s meal had it not been for some ‘miracle’ that saw her break free.

“I don’t ever want to think about that day, but it keeps coming back to me. I don’t know how my hand got loose, but I ran for my life. It was only when others who were close by helped me that I realised blood was spilling all over,” says the divorcee.

Listoni was admitted to Lisungwi Community Hospital until February 12 when she was discharged.

The journey of death to Shire River to fetch water I Kondwani Kamiyala

Her medical records show she was treated for a fractured radius (a break in one or more bones) of her right hand.

In a recent interview while holding her two-year-old and 10-yer-old sons sitting beside her, Listoni said: “We have no water source near my home. The nearby borehole broke down. The Shire River is our only source of water. We use it for drinking and can’t afford Waterguard. Since I was attacked, I am no longer able to carry out household chores.”

Julita’s schoolmate, Grace Simon, said the lack of piped water at Zalewa affects their education.

“We depend on the Shire. We have to wake up early to go and draw water since the queues at boreholes are long.

“I go to school too tired to concentrate and when late, we are sent back,” she says.

Located along the M1, Zalewa lies between the Capital City Lilongwe and the commercial capital Blantyre.

Further, it is the main trading centre closest to Mwanza, a district bordering Mozambique.

Since creation, the trading centre has never had piped water in spite of its 6 600 population, according to the 2018 Population and Housing Survey.

Residents we talked to affirm they are tired of promises of clean, safe and piped water.

Drawing water from Shire River leads to crocodile attacks, drowning and waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea and typhoid.

Malita Kasupulu says the non-functional borehole at Chigayo cha Amayi is epitomises of the water situation at Zalewa.

“The water from the borehole was salty. This is one of the first boreholes to be sunk here We still use this water for washing utensils while bathing at the Shire. Life is hard,” she says.

Kasupulu recalls numerous times women have been mauled by crocodiles and swept away by the river as thry tried to get water.

Malizakamba Primary School head teacher Felix Langwe is concerned. “We have a big problem on our hands. The problem is deep,” he said.

Langwe came to Zalewa in 1986 with his parents. There were only two boreholes at the time which have since broken down.

Langwe said the water from Shire River is better because the rest of water sources are salty.

Neno District Health Office spokesperson Caroline Banda said last year, the district registered no cholera cases.

But from October 2022 to the same month in 2023, the district registered 595 cases, with seven deaths.

“Zalewa is indeed known to be a high-risk area for cholera and typhoid in Neno. Its proximity to unsafe water sources, inadequate sanitation facilities and limited access to clean water contribute to the increased risk. [The trading centre] contributed 524 cases of the 784 cases from 2021 to 2023 period,” she says.

For the people of Zalewa, their hopes were high, when President Lazarus Chakwera the area was among the priorities to make piped water a reality.

Speaking when he commissioned the Mangochi extension water supply project at Nkhudzi Bay in October 2023, Chakwera said his administration was aggressive in courting and securing investment in the water sector.

Apart from Zalewa, he cited Liwonde, Makanjira and Mwanza as the next targets for water development.

In April last year, Zalewa Water Supply Project Implementation manager Maxin Saulosi said the project would be carried out with support from the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India.

“As a board, we have been given $65.6 million to establish new water supply centres at Ulongwe in Balaka, Migowi in Phalombe, Fatima in Nsanje and Zalewa in Neno and upgrade and extend existing water supply schemes at Mwanza, Liwonde and Balaka,” he told Malawi News Agency.

But now, that hope is dashed.

Neno district commissioner Rosemary Nawasha says the project, estimated at K6.2 billion, with 7 887 estimated beneficiaries by 2030, would see the construction of 10 communal points.

But the deal with Exim Bank of India stalled and the Malawi Government would foot the bill.

“We are aware of the problems people at Zalewa are facing. Government applied for a loan from Exim Bank, which was approved in 2024. However, due to International Monetary Fund debt restructuring, all loans were put on hold, prompting the bank to suspend the loan,” she said in a response to our questionnaire.

Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia says recruitment of a contractor is in progress to finance the project in the coming fiscal year.

“It has been a long process, with negotiations not yet concluded, government has resolved to implement within 12 months,” she said.

She reckons water is an essential commodity to sustain life and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Group village head Zalewa, Traditional Authority Saimoni in Neno is, however, optimistic his subjects will one day have piped water.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button