Usikaribie mto huo, kwa sababu kuna mamba wengi.

Usikaribie is a negative command meaning don’t go near or don’t approach.

It is built from:

• usi- = negative command marker for you (singular)
• -karibi- = verb root from karibia (to approach / come near)
• -e = the final vowel used in this kind of negative command

So the structure is basically usi + karibi + e.

In Swahili, negative commands normally use the final vowel -e, not -a.

So:

• positive: karibia = approach / come near
• negative command: usikaribie = don’t approach

This is very common in Swahili:

• nenda = go
• usiende = don’t go

So usikaribie follows the same pattern.

It is talking to one person.

If you were telling more than one person, you would say:

• Msikaribie mto huo = Don’t go near that river

So:

• usi- = don’t you (singular)
• msi- = don’t you (plural)

In Swahili, demonstratives like this and that usually come after the noun, not before it as in English.

So:

• mto huo = that river
• literally: river that

This word order is completely normal in Swahili.

Huo means that and it agrees with mto.

Swahili demonstratives have to match the noun class of the noun they describe. Since mto belongs to a particular noun class, the matching form here is huo.

For this noun, you might see:

• mto huu = this river
• mto huo = that river
• mto ule = that river over there / that yonder river

So huo is the correct that for mto.

Yes. Kwa sababu is a very common fixed phrase meaning because.

Literally, it comes from:

• kwa = by / for / with / because of, depending on context
• sababu = reason

So the whole phrase is like for the reason that, but in normal English you usually just translate it as because.

Kuna is the Swahili way to say there is or there are.

In this sentence:

• kuna mamba wengi = there are many crocodiles

A useful thing to remember is that kuna does not change between singular and plural:

• kuna mamba mmoja = there is one crocodile
• kuna mamba wengi = there are many crocodiles

So it works for both there is and there are.

There are two important things here.

First, mamba can be both singular and plural. The form often stays the same:

• mamba mmoja = one crocodile
• mamba wengi = many crocodiles

Second, wengi means many, and with people and many animals, Swahili often uses the animate agreement pattern, which is why wengi sounds natural here.

Also remember that adjectives normally come after the noun in Swahili:

• mamba wengi = many crocodiles

Here it is plural, because of wengi (many).

One tricky thing for English speakers is that mamba often looks the same in singular and plural. You have to tell from the rest of the sentence:

• mamba mmoja = one crocodile
• mamba wengi = many crocodiles

So in this sentence, it clearly means crocodiles, not crocodile.

Because Swahili often expresses ideas with a verb where English might use a combination like go near, come close to, or be near.

So karibia means something like:

• approach
• come near
• get close to

That is why usikaribie mto huo naturally means don’t go near that river or don’t approach that river.

Yes. Very much so.

Swahili commands often carry the same kinds of meanings as English commands:

• a direct order
• a warning
• advice
• urgent caution

Because of the second part, kwa sababu kuna mamba wengi, the whole sentence clearly sounds like a warning for safety.