The death of Tahulela Nembudane at Nandoni Dam last week has highlighted the issue of safety amongst anglers. Nembudane (33), an avid angler from Dumasi village outside Thohoyandou, drowned while fishing at the dam on Sunday morning.

His body was only found on Monday afternoon at the Dididi Bridge, after frantic searches by the community and police. It is alleged that he went to the dam early on Sunday to check on his fishing nets. The last person to be seen with him denies having gone with him, which leaves a question whether he was alone or with someone else.

Ndaedzo Nembudane, the deceased´s brother, told Mirror that when his brother did not return home, they did not panic as they were used to it. He said they got the shocking news after his clothes were spotted at the dam but his body was nowhere to be found.

“After hearing the sad news, we all rushed to the dam where we found people already gathered there. We later learnt that his body was spotted by a police helicopter, and they were just waiting for a boat to fetch the body,” he said.

Meanwhile, his death has sparked a debate amongst anglers who attribute most of the deaths to drunkenness. One angler, who preferred to remain anonymous, said many of the accidents at the dam were as result of people venturing into the water drunk. He said after lowering the nets, anglers rush back to the village and imbibe alcohol and forget they are still going back to the water. “We have to come up with a solution ourselves. We have to check on each other and whoever is found to have consumed liquor should not be allowed to get into the water,” he said.

He said as fishermen they could not just sit down while their members are drowning in numbers but had to take drastic steps to reduce the number of fatalities. “If we could have some life jackets and proper boats, the number of fatalities could be reduced.”

Meanwhile, net fishing has been banned at the dam.

Mr Alson Matukane, director general in the Department of Water Affairs, said the department was busy issuing fishing licences that would assist in regulating fishing. He said they would also embark on a programme to teach swimming to the rural communities in a bid to curb drownings.

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Capt Mashudu Malelo said an inquest docket had been opened.

He warned communities to stay away from the water and only to swim under supervision.