Namibian woman rewarded for saving her husband from crocodile’s jaw
A 29-year-old woman who summoned the courage and fought off a crocodile off her husband last year has been awarded a trophy for her bravery, by the Kavango East police in Namibia. Elizabeth Shintangu, was doing laundry at the Kavango River near Rundu in the north-east when her husband, Matheus Kativa, who was bathing in the river, began screaming for help.
Kativa, a 47-year old farmer, who still couldn’t believe he’s still alive told The Namibian:
‘It was like a car had fallen on top of me. It was confusing to realise that I was in the grip of a crocodile. I screamed for help, and the next thing I saw my wife on top of the reptile, fighting it. Then it let go of me, and by that time my lower arm had been severed,’Kativa said.
When they both tried to swim to the riverbank, the crocodile came back and grabbed him again.
‘This time I thought it was the end, and I waved my wife goodbye,’ he related.
A valiant Shintangu refused to let go of her husband and pulled him back from the jaws of the crocodile. Just when they thought the nightmare was over, the Crocodile was resilient and kept fighting back, attacking for the third time. Fortunately, Shintangu’s screams drew the attention of villagers from a nearby village who helped to pull the couple out of the river.
On awarding Shintangu for her bravery, the Kavango East regional police commander, commissioner Johanna Ndahafa Ngondo, said he was touched by the story and couldn’t deny her from rightfully being rewarded.
