NKWENE – When is it acceptable to break the law?
This was the question residents of Mawelawela, Nkwene, near Nhlangano, had to grapple with on Wednesday after deciding that waiting any longer for wildlife officials was no longer a viable option.
For weeks, they say, a crocodile had been terrorising their community, snatching dogs, livestock and even disrupting farming along the Mkhondvo River.
Cocodiles are protected animals and possessing them, dead or alive, is a criminal offence. It is also illegal to touch them.
What began as a desperate attempt to safeguard their livelihoods soon turned into a scene of conflict between villagers and rangers from Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.
By the time the rangers arrived, the reptile’s jaws had already been bound with ropes and tempers were flaring on both sides.
Residents explained that the crocodile had been roaming near their homesteads and attacking animals that ventured too close to the river.
They said it was not the first time they had seen such a creature, but this one had become brazen enough to stray into their fields. “We could not even take our cattle to drink from the river anymore,” said one of the residents, known as Jabha.
“It was always there, and we started losing dogs and goats. Even chickens began to disappear.” After several discussions, the community decided that the only way to stop the attacks was to capture the crocodile. They agreed that, once caught, it would be handed over safely to game rangers.
“We did not want to kill it,” said another resident.
“We just wanted to get it away from the community before someone got hurt.”
On Wednesday morning, a group of men gathered near the riverbank and set up a trap made from wire and wooden poles, designed to restrict the animal’s movement once inside. As planned, the crocodile entered and was unable to retreat back into the water. Jabha said, on seeing the creature struggle, they quickly used ropes to tie its mouth and legs.
“It was a struggle,” he recalled. “Crocodiles are very strong and we were afraid it would escape and attack us. But we managed to tie it up and pull it onto the riverbank.”
The residents then carried the reptile, estimated to be about two metres long, for almost a kilometre along the river to a flat area, where the handover would be easier. They called rangers from Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary to collect it.
“We thought they would be happy we had done their job for them,” one man said with a faint smile, “but instead, they told us what we did was illegal.”
For nearly an hour, the residents waited in the hot sun for the rangers to arrive. When the vehicle from the sanctuary finally pulled up, the mood shifted from excitement to confusion. Rather than expressing gratitude, the rangers asked the residents why they had trapped the crocodile. One official reportedly told them it was against the law to capture or handle protected wildlife without authorisation.
This statement angered the villagers, who could not understand why protecting themselves and their animals from a predator was considered a crime.
“What were we supposed to do? Just watch while it eats our goats?” asked one resident.
Another remarked, “If we had called for help earlier, no one would have come. So we did what we had to do.”
The rangers explained that crocodiles, like many wild animals in Eswatini, are protected under national conservation laws. They stressed that even when such animals pose a threat, only authorised personnel are permitted to capture or relocate them.
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