Mubarak Batambuze still suffers from sleepless nights when he thinks about what happened to his wife back in 2014. It was something he would never wish upon his worst enemy and he is still reeling from the devastation and heartache it caused.
It was a warm sunny day when Mubarak's wife, Demeteriya Nabire, went out from her village in Uganda to gather some water at the nearby Lake Kyoga. She and a group of other local women were filling their water jugs in the lake as a crocodile at the other end of the lake observed them. Slowly it began maneuvering its way underneath the water over to where Demeteriya was standing. Out of nowhere, the crocodile lunged at Demeteriya, knocking her down and sinking its teeth into her flesh.
There was blood everywhere. The other women screamed in pure terror while looking on helplessly. The crocodile pulled Demeteriya straight down into the water and started viciously mauling her body. In a matter of minutes, the crocodile quickly swam away from the area with her corpse. Although her body has not been found to this day, there is no doubt that Demeteriya was eaten alive.
When news of what happened reached Mubarak, he instantly dissolved into tears. He never expected for his wife to die so suddenly. There was not even a body that he could bury. But perhaps what made the tragedy even worse was that Demeteriya was pregnant with the couple's first child. For Mubarak, it was like losing two lives. He was so heartbroken that he vowed to seek revenge on the crocodile.
Months passed and then one day a friend called Mubarak to inform him that they found the crocodile that was probably responsible for the death of his wife and unborn child. Mubarak rushed to the site that his friend had described to find a massive and powerful crocodile. The beast was nearly 14 ft long and weighed over 1,300 lbs. He started throwing rocks at it and prodding it with sticks. But these attempts to harm the crocodile did very little.
Mubarak decided he needed to take a different approach and enlisted the help of a blacksmith, who constructed a very sharp and deadly spear. When Mubarak returned to the area where the crocodile was, his friends tried to warn him. They insisted that the spear would not be enough to murder the crocodile. Mubarak didn't care; he was determined to get revenge even if it meant risking his own life. As his friends continued to throw rocks at the creature, Mubarak took aim with his spear and pierced the crocodile right in its side. It took nearly an hour and a half for Mubarak to successfully murder the beast that killed his wife and unborn baby. After delivering the final blow, Mubarak rejoiced over the crocodile's lifeless corpse. When he retuned to his village, Mubarak was honored as a hero for his brave actions. The dead crocodile was taken to a local veterinarian, who conducted an autopsy and found what may have been a human tibia bone inside the reptile's stomach, suggesting that it was indeed likely this crocodile had killed Mubarak's wife and unborn baby.
As tragic as his story is, Mubarak treasures the memory of his wife, and the time he was able to spend with her. He is a true hero for ensuring that no one else has to go through the awful experience of losing a loved one to this evil monster.
