Meet The Man Who Killed The Crocodile That Ate His Wife

A man whose pregnant wife was dragged away by a 1,300lb crocodile took revenge on the beast by slicing it open with a spear in a fight to the death.

Mubarak Batambuze-Fisherman is now hailed a hero by friends and neighbours since he slew the 25ft-long monster, which snatched his wife Demeteriya Nabire as she went to collect water from the Uganda's Lake Kyoga with group of women.

50-year-old Mubarak, who spent an hour and a half in mortal combat with the beast, and puts his victory down to a special weapon made solely for the battle told BBC his story.

Four months ago, pregnant Demeteriya Nabire was killed by a crocodile along with her unborn child; but then last month her husband heard the crocodile had returned and decided to take his revenge.

Narrating his story, Mubarak said, "Somebody called me and said, 'Mubarak, I have news for you - the crocodile that took your wife is here - we are looking at it now." He was a very big monster, and we tried fighting him with stones and sticks. But there was nothing we could do."

So Batambuze went to visit the local blacksmith...

"I explained to him that I was fighting a beast that had snatched and killed my wife and unborn baby. I really wanted my revenge, and asked the blacksmith to make me a spear that could kill the crocodile dead. The Blacksmith asked me for £3.20 ($5) and made the spear for me," he says. It was a significant amount of money for Batambuze, but he was determined to kill the animal that had snatched his future."

"The crocodile ate my wife entirely. Nothing was ever seen of her again - no clothes, no part of her body that I could identify. I just didn't know what to do - a mother and her unborn child. It was the end of my world. I was completely lost."

The countless plea from his friends not to fight the beast couldn't stop him.

"Please don't attack this beast," they pleaded, "it's so huge it may eat you. The spear is not enough - it won't finish the job." Mubarak continued; I failed killing it the first time around. I'm not bothered if I die killing this beast. I'm going to take it on with this spear, and I will make sure that it dies. I had so much fear in me but what helped me to succeed was the spear."

"I put the spear into the crocodile's side, and while my friends were helping to throw stones at the beast's back, it tried getting its mouth up to attack me again. It turned violent, and then there was so much fear in the place. But I was so determined, and I wasn't afraid of dying. I just wanted it dead, so I put the spear in its side and I pulled the rope. That got the crocodile into trouble. There was so much shock. What really surprised everybody was how big the beast was. It wasn't an ordinary crocodile. It was so big. And people called me and my friends heroes," he says.

The dead animal was later taken to Makarere University in Kampala, where it was examined by a vet, Wilfred Emneku, who said that a tibia bone was found inside the crocodile's stomach, but while he believes it's human he can't be sure.

Mubarak Batambuze continues to get praises from his community as they celebrate and thank him for killing the Crocodile and keeping their village stream safe. It's obvious his fight was worthwhile as he would smile peacefully though no mourning grave for his late wife.