16 Sep 2024

The family of the 14-year-old teen snatched by a crocodile at the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi River in Kasane on September 6 has called off the search.

They sat down with law enforcement officers and the search team on Thursday, where they expressed their satisfaction with efforts made.

The boy’s father, Mr Samuel Musonda said experts had informed them that when one had been swallowed by a crocodile, it was impossible to recover any remains after the fourth day, hence their decision to call off the search.

He explained that the family had no doubt that no stone was left unturned given the extensive search, which involved airboat, helicopter and scuba divers.

Mr Musonda said losing their beloved son caused them a lot of pain, which would take time to heal. 

“This kind of trauma never goes away because we didn’t get closure by seeing a body or the remains of our child, so his memory will stay with us forever,” he said.

He indicated that they were comforted by the community who had been holding their hands since the incident.

Mr Musonda said they drew comfort from Revelations 21 verse four, which reads, “God will wipe away all their tears, there will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain.”

He expressed gratitude to all government departments including the Namibian police for working tirelessly as a unit to recover their beloved son.

The father advised parents to take good care of their children and monitor their whereabouts so that they did not fall victims of dangers at the river.

Kasane police station commander Superintendent James Maabong confirmed that the search had been called off following the family’s decision.

He said police would leave the investigation open and continue to conduct minor searches at the scene to rule out all possibilities.

Supt Maabong thanked the Namibian police for deploying teams to join Batswana in the search while the other team patrols the riverine on the Namibian side in Impalila village.

He emphasised that police and other relevant stakeholders would intensify education outreach in schools and kgotla meetings to raise awareness against the dangers of Chobe River.

Principal Veterinary Officer  in Chobe, Dr Karabo Danster stated that when efforts to find the missing boy proved futile, the team resorted to another approach of searching for big crocodiles to kill with hope of recovering the boy’s remains.

He said the team managed to kill only one crocodile as many eluded the traps, adding that a forensic examination was done and proved that no remains of a human being were found in its stomach.

Dr Danster pointed out that crocodiles attacked prey mostly on the river banks, including people who may come to fish or deep into water sources.

He said in a case where there were many crocodiles in the water, they would fight and reap prey apart and devour it completely, which would render recovering of remains difficult. ENDS