Man badly injured after elephants invade his homestead (Kenya)
Man badly injured after elephants invade his homestead (Kenya)
Waweru Wairimu, The Nation
July 14, 2021
See link
https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/isiolo/man-badly-injured-after-elephants-invade-his-homestead-3473516
for photos.
A middle-aged man was critically injured on Wednesday morning after
marauding elephants invaded his home in Nkando village, Maili Saba area
near the Isiolo-Meru border.
The jumbos attacked Mr Jeremiah Kanake as he came out of his house to
respond to screams from villagers who were chasing the animals away after
they were spotted wreaking havoc on one of the farms.
The elephants, which included a calf in the herd, trampled on his chest and
one of his legs before residents managed to scare them away and rush him to
Isiolo Referral Hospital.
Mr Jeremiah Kanake (lying on the bed) at Isiolo Referral Hospital on July
14, 2021. He was attacked by marauding elephants on Wednesday morning.
Isiolo Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Hussein Mohammud said
the 47-year-old sustained severe injuries on his chest and had fractures on
his right leg. “The wounds are being dressed,” Dr Hussein told
Nation.Africa.
Nkando residents have raised alarm over increasing jumbo attacks in the
area saying two people, including a child, were killed six months ago. They
say stray elephants have continued to terrorise them, making it hard to
carry on with their daily activities.
Ms Catherine Kanyua, a resident, said jumbos had wreaked havoc on her maize
and banana plantation leaving her counting losses.
Kill Threats
“We are tired of asking the government to contain them because nothing has
been done,” she lamented while accusing the Kenya Wildlife Service of
laxity in responding to emergencies.
Locals are now threatening to kill the elephants, maintaining that they
will not allow them to continue attacking people and destroying crops. They
have also faulted the government for not paying pending claims stemming
from injury, death and destruction caused by wildlife. “We want the issue
addressed or we take the law into our hands,” a resident, Mr Mutwiri, said.
KWS Senior Warden Mohammud Madera could not be reached for comment by press
time.