Residents of Gatumbiro village, Oljororok Sub-county in Nyandarua are complaining of the loss of their livelihoods due to invasion by Hippos.
The hippos from Lake Olbolosat have invaded the local farms and recently injured a man.
Area resident, Mary Gachau, said animals have destroyed potatoes, cabbages and maize crops leading to huge losses on the part of the farmers, who solely depend on agriculture.
“Our husbands have to spend the night in the cold to guard the farms against the hippos throughout the crop season,” lamented Teresia Gitonga.
Ms Gitonga noted that their efforts to earn a living from farming had borne no fruit, regretting that the residents would be food insecure.
“We have complained to the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and the County Government here but no action has been taken. One of us has now been attacked and we are living in fear, we can’t kill the animals as it is against the law, yet no compensations are forthcoming.
Governor Francis Kimemia, in May commissioned a 12 km trench around the Lake Ol Bolosat to keep off the hippos from farmlands, noting that the trench will resolve the perennial, Human-Hippo conflict in the northern parts of the lake.
By Rahab Naimutie and Anne Sabuni
