Stray elephant tramples 49-year-old man to death

 

A stray elephant trampled a 49-year-old man to death in Lomut village, sparking protests in the area.

The man, Lopuranguria Angorita, was trying to scare away the animal that had sneaked into his home in Sigor Constituency.

Angorita's nephew, Philip Kangalan, said another jumbo attacked him from behind, killing him instantly.

Mr Kangalan said wild animals often sneak from the nearby Nasolot Game Reserve and attack residents, besides destroying their crops.

He said the three jumbos charged at his uncle as he was trying to scare one of them away by lighting a fire.

Parts of the semi-arid and pastoral county including areas surrounding the game reserve have been prone to human-wildlife conflicts and residents are now calling for State intervention.

"We have witnessed such cases before but the response made by Kenya Wildlife Service officers has been minimal hence the recurrence of similar conflicts," said Anne Lolemo, a resident of Lomut.

Some KWS wardens responded and rushed to the scene of the attack but could not divulge any information since they are not authorised to speak to the Press.

A human rights activist, Boniface Wanyoike, challenged the KWS to fence off the game reserve as well as compensate victims of human–wildlife conflicts.

"We need to respect the sanctity of life by protecting residents and property by all means. Relevant authorities need to take appropriate measures to control human–wildlife conflicts that have resulted in deaths," he said.

Mr Wanyoike called for promotion of private conservancies in the region so that wild animals are caged to protect humans from attacks as well as to generate revenue.