Four villages where wild animals maim and kill at will

John Muli, 70, displays an X-ray film showing injuries he sustained when he was attacked by a lion in 2015. He is one of the many victims of wild animal attacks in Makueni County. [Stephen Nzioka, Standard]

In the sleepy villages of Kyuasini, Ngiluni, Mbetwani and Ilikoni in Kibwezi East, Makueni County, tales of people who have escaped the jaws of death abound.

Their brushes with death have come from encounters with wild animals from Tsavo East National Park. John Muli, 70, was attacked by a lion on April 29, 2015

“I was grazing my livestock in the field when I saw a lion running after one of my cows. I tried to stop it but it pounced on me”, said Mr Muli.

He used a stick in his desperate attempt to fight off the wild cat.

“It lunged at me but I was determined not to be its next meal. I looked at it as its paw struck my face; it missed but I fell flat on the ground,” he said.

“I beat it with the stick I was holding till it broke.”

The old man was lucky to escape with his life as villagers responded to his desperate cries. He was rushed to Mtito Andei Hospital and later transferred to Makueni Level Four Hospital.

Permanent injuries

When his condition worsened, he was transferred again, this time to Nairobi West Hospital. Besides suffering a Sh172,000 dent in his pocket, Muli suffered permanent injuries.

“Operation done was on tube thoracotomy, suffered multiple soft tissue injuries,” read a medical report prepared by a Dr Rakesh at the hospital.

He was operated on in the chest and one shoulder. The old man also had multiple head wounds and punctured lungs among other serious injuries, according to his medical reports. Another victim of human-wildlife conflict is Musili Mutambuki.

“I was going to River Mtito Andei to water my cattle when a hyena attacked me from behind,” narrated Mr Mutambuki, brandishing his Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) compensation claim forms.

The resident of Kiembeni village suffered multiple lacerations.

Nicknamed ‘Mbiti’ (hyena) by his neighbours after the attack, one of his index fingers, which turned gangrenous, was amputated at Makindu Sub-County Hospital.

This changed his life.

“I used to make wood carvings, which I sold to tourists in Mombasa. But now I can’t do anything because the remaining fingers are ailing and cannot carry anything.”

Complaint forwarded

The attack was reported at Mtito Andei Police Station on May 26, 2015, and a complaint forwarded to the Tsavo East National Park senior warden. He says he has never heard from KWS.

Paul Mulewa’s son’s grave in Ngiluni is still fresh.

“The boy was bitten by a poisonous snake and crushed to death”, explained Mutinda Kithome, a neighbour, who himself survived a cheetah attack in 2010.

A sum of Sh50,000 was paid as compensation for the boy’s death.

But the wildlife do more than killing and maiming. No agricultural activity can thrive in this arid region due to the marauding animals.

“If you mess with elephants while they are destroying crops in your farm, you will be lucky to escape alive,” said John Kyumwa, whose hand was broken during a confrotation with elephants on his farm. 

Mr Kyumwa said he saw no need to report the matter to KWS as “nothing much would come out of it”.

A kale and tomatoes project by the Mulee Self-Help Group has died out after elephants invaded and destroyed everything, including water tanks on the farm.

Patrick Mwakavi, a night guard at a hotel in the park, was attacked by a lion in 2012.

“I was going to pick up visitors and take them to their rooms when a lion attacked me.

“I have worked here for 30 years; this was one of my unfortunate days because I fell unconscious and woke up in a Mombasa hospital,” said Mr Mwakavi while showing scars on his white-haired head.

Later, KWS gave him Sh50,000, which he complains is “not equal to the suffering”.

In the tourist hotels, two people were recently mauled - one by a hyena and the other by a crocodile - in the River Athi stretch.

Tsavo National Park Senior Warden Keneth Ochieng said claimants might have been sending letters to the wrong addresses. Captain Ochieng said his office responded to all the letters it received.

“I cannot fail to respond to any document sent to my office. It is part of my role, unless it was sent to the wrong office.”

Ochieng said KWS had several stations in Makueni that received such complaints and channelled them to the Tsavo Conservation Area headquarters in Voi. They are then forwarded to Nairobi.

“Once we receive letters, deliberations on the documents are done, analysed and a report made before they are forwarded to the conservation headquarters,” he said.

At Mtito Andei Hospital, the first stop for wildlife attack victims, Chief Executive Officer Rose Mumbu said they received between 15 and 20 victims a month.

“They have different injuries inflicted by wild animals, such as snake bites, attacks from lions, elephants, leopards, squirrels and even spiders,” said Dr Mumbu.

The hospital is usually unable to handle serious cases and refers the victims to better equipped facilities.

“We handle minor cases and for others, we give first aid. Cases of venomous snake bites are referred to Makindu Sub-County Hospital.

According to Section 25 of the Wildlife Management and Conservation Act 2013, the family of a person who dies from an animal attack should be paid Sh5 million. A person who becomes permanently disabled after an attack should be paid up to Sh3 million.

Farmers whose crops are destroyed are compensated according to the prevailing market value of the crops.

Pending claims

Currently, there are pending claims of about 5,000 people who are owed by the Government more than Sh4 billion, according to Makueni County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committee chairperson Nicodemus Kivindyo.

“The Government paid claims in 2014-2015. Only seven people were paid here in Makueni. We have 17 deaths (in Makueni) that have been approved for compensation,” said Mr Kivindyo.

Due to a Ministry of Wildlife directive that called for prioritisation of compensation for deaths caused by wild animals, no farmer has been paid for crops damaged or livestock killed by wild animals since the County Wildlife Committee came into office in 2015.

The chairman believes the solution to the menace lies in erecting an electric fence to prevent wildlife from straying into residential areas.