BY RODRICK DESURI
Auki
Auki Police is still waiting for permission from their headquarters in Honiara to proceed to culling crocodiles along the Wairaha River.
Malaita Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Michael Ramosaea, confirmed this in an interview with this paper yesterday.
He said they submitted their application to hunt crocodile to their Police Headquarters several months ago, but are yet to receive any response.
Superintendent Ramosaea said they will wait until they receive permission before acting on the requests from communities along Wairaha.
He added that an agreement has been reached between the elders of the community and the police.
“At the moment, we have yet to receive any permission to conduct the hunt from our headquarters in Honiara. We don’t know why it is taking so long.
“It is true that the police must act on the community’s request as soon as possible for their safety, but we can’t do it without approval from our headquarters,” he said.
He said they will act promptly when they receive approval from the Police Headquarters.
Meanwhile, villagers have been living in great fear as they have seen crocodiles along the river multiple times.
“This has caused great fear and is really affecting our normal life here at home. We now can’t cross the river by canoe or swim,” a concerned villager said.
The crocodile hunt is vital for the Wairaha communities after two women over 20 years old lost their lives in separate crocodile attacks along the river.
The first incident occurred on April 3, when a 22-year-old girl was attacked, followed by her niece on April 21, 2026. They were from Paunanu’u village.
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