A grim week of human-wildlife conflict has left four families in mourning and sparked fresh outrage among local communities. Police and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials have launched investigations into a series of separate attacks that occurred between January 26 and 28 across Tana River, Lamu, Homa Bay, and Siaya counties.
The fatalities highlight the increasing dangers faced by rural residents while performing everyday tasks. In Tana River’s Gamba area, Paul Akale, 65, was fatally gored by a buffalo while collecting building poles on his farm. In a similarly tragic incident in Witu, Lamu, 67-year-old Ali Kofa was attacked and killed by a hippopotamus while fetching water for his household.
The threat extended to the country’s waterways, where crocodile attacks claimed two more lives:
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Raymond Otieno was attacked and killed while bathing at Awana Beach on Lake Victoria.
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John Okeyo, 30, was killed at River Yala in Nyamonye village.
While KWS officials processed the scenes and moved the bodies to local mortuaries for autopsies, the mood on the ground remains tense. Residents in the affected regions have expressed growing frustration over the lack of protection from roaming wildlife, with many calling for the immediate relocation of dangerous animals. These latest tragedies serve as a stark reminder of the escalating tension between human settlements and natural habitats, as communities demand more than just investigations—they want safety.
By Breaking Kenya News
