A 26-year-old man died on Wednesday morning in the Rundu Intermediate Hospital from injuries he sustained after a hippopotamus attacked him on Tuesday at Shitemo village, Kavango East region.
He was employed as a security guard at Shitemo green scheme.
Likuwa Kudumo was reportedly paddling a canoe in which he was transporting his sister, Eldraud Muronga, and her child to fetch firewood on an island in the middle of the Okavango River when the hippo attacked him.
“While the two were in a state of confusion, the hippo hit the canoe, threw it in the air, and attacked the deceased by biting him in the chest,” said acting regional commander deputy commissioner Eino Nambahu.
Nambahu said the hippo threw Kudumo near the bank of the river, where Kudumo managed to swim to safety.
“The deceased’s sister managed to swim out of the water and rescued her child, who almost drowned,” said Nambahu.
Kudumo and his sister were rescued by someone paddling in another canoe, who transported them from the island to the shore.
Kudumo was taken to Nyangana hospital and later transferred to Rundu Intermediate Hospital.
A senior registered nurse at Rundu Intermediate Hospital, Peter Kawali, told The Namibian on Wednesday that Kudumo was injured on his right leg above the knee, which resulted in his leg being amputated.
After surgery, Kudumo was admitted into the intensive care unit where he died on Wednesday morning, said Kawali.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, but could not share more details.
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