An elderly man who went to fetch water from the Sabie River in Belfast Trust, near the Kruger Gate of the Kruger National Park, was allegedly killed by a crocodile on February 26.

Kwaitos Mkansi, believed to have been in his mid-sixties, reportedly took water containers to the river around midday after the village had been without water for several days.

The water containers and the victim’s bag that were found on the banks of the river.Concerned family members went to look for him when he did not return home. At the riverbank, they found his water containers, a plastic bag and his sandals.

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The discovery led them to suspect that he had been attacked by a crocodile. Community members were alerted and rushed to the scene to assist in the search.

“Besides the water containers, sandals and the red plastic bag, we saw a brown wallet floating in the middle of the river. We used a log to pull it closer, and the family confirmed it belonged to Mkansi,” said Belfast Trust community leader Xibutana Nkuna.

He added that the police were contacted. “The police informed us that their divers were attending to another incident at Driekoppies Dam in Nkomazi and that it might take time for them to arrive. We then saw a crocodile holding a man by his arm and tried to scare it away in the hope that it would release him,” Nkuna said.

“Fearing the delay, some community members entered the water despite having seen the crocodile. They managed to drive it away and retrieve Mkansi, but he was motionless. His arm appeared fractured, and there were no other visible injuries,” he added.

Police and paramedics later arrived on the scene, where Mkansi was declared dead.

Members of the Belfast Trust community at the Sabie River.Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Mpho Nonyane-Mpe confirmed that an inquest docket has been opened.

A similar incident was recently reported in the Selati River in Limpopo. Read more here: