With nowhere else to turn for drinking water, residents in uMkhanyakude District are forced to use the Nyalazi River, a water source that has reportedly taken 13 lives since 2020.

This is reportedly a result of the district’s failure to supply water to communities in Nqimlana, Mnganwini and Ngananeni, adjacent to the river.

Sipho Gumbi (62) is one such resident, and recalls how he lost his daughter in 2020.

“She went with my wife to fetch water at around 7am, and she slipped into the river. We looked for her but could not find her in the water. She surfaced at the same spot at about 11am, already dead,” said the distraught father.

“We could not take her body to the mortuary because we had no money to arrange her funeral, so she was buried the same day. To date, we still risk our lives getting water from this river as we have no choice.”

Mtubatuba Ward 21 Councillor Philangenkosi Mthiyane said most of the victims are young boys, and said the local belief is that a mythical serpent lives in the water.

“Our main challenge is this river is their main source of water. They fetch water to drink and wash despite the fear.

“There are also women gardening and they rely on this river for irrigation. We can’t ask them to stop as gardening is their source of income,” he said.

The only way to prevent this, he added, is to have at least five boreholes supplying water.

“I have been to several organisations asking for help, but most of them make empty promises,” he said.
uMkhanyakude District Municipality communications manager Nonhlanhla Jele said they aimed to secure more water tankers.

“Water infrastructure vandalism is rife in Mtubatuba but the district municipality is working on buying additional water tankers,” she said.

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