As hyena attack menace continues to wreak havoc in Witeithie area, Juja Sub County, stakeholders have established a taskforce to ensure all abandoned quarries which act as hideouts of the animals are closed and fenced off.
This comes even as the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is in the process of translocating the animals to the nearby Ol Donyo Sabuk Park where they often sneaked out of.
This after a public outcry occasioned by the mauling of three people including two children and a woman by the marauding animals in the last two months.
Several people are also nursing injuries with flocks of livestock also dead from the hyena attacks, incidents which have gone on for years with little being done to address the situation.
During a stakeholders meeting at Zetech University Juja Campus Thursday, the stakeholders led by Zetech University Vice Chancellor Prof Njenga Munene called on KWS to hasten the translocation process saying they might be forced to take law into their hands and hunt to kill the animals.
He said as a university, the hyena menace has been a concern since many of the students from the institution live in the Weitethie neighbourhood.
“Sometimes our students study late and stand the risk of being attacked by hyenas. We need KWS to move with speed and confine these animals to prevent such incidents,” Prof Munene said.
He called on the need to fence off the Ol Donyo Sabuk game reserve where the animals sneak out, so as to confine them within the sanctuary to prevent contact with the people.
“Otherwise we shall get into a disastrous situation where people will continue to lose lives or take law into their hands and kill the animals unnecessarily,” said the VC.
Other stakeholders expressed their frustration that little was being done to address the situation and called on KWS to act with speed and restore calm in the area.
“We are no longer safe in this area. We have to get home early and also walk into groups because we are not sure where the animals will attack next,” they said.
Business people led by bar owners said they are forced to close early as their clients cannot stay till late for fear of being attacked by the animals.
Area ACC1 Wilson Mwangi assured the stakeholders that the situation is in control adding that a lot is being done to weed the animals out of the area and ensure the safety of the residents.
“As KWS is translocating the animals from the area, we shall close all abandoned quarries and fence them off so that once they are triangulated, they don’t come out and hide out in those areas,” he said.
By Muoki Charles
