By Guardian Reporter A 'skilled' crocodile killer in Lake Nyasa and in rivers in Ruvuma Region has said that efforts to kill the reptiles that had killed many people are bogged down by lack of equipment.
Many people also fear to learn the skill because they associate it with witchcraft.
John John Mpombe, popularly known in Ruvuma region as Mrema Kiboko cha Mamba, told The Guardian in an interview yesterday that because people did not want to learn the trade, he had to move from one village to another, to kill the man eater. This is a job anyone, especially the youth, can do. Yet several people whom I have taught the trade cannot do it on their own for fear that some witchcraft is involved. Regarding the equipment he uses in the job, Mpombe said that he needs hooks and steel wire of certain length. But these are only used to catch the reptile.