Residents of Nyacaba village, Juja Sub County are living in fear of attacks by hippopotamuses that have been roaming around the village after straying from the Ndarugo River.
The ravenous creatures have been roaming around the village for months, creating fear and panic.
The animals routinely invade locals’ farms, eating away their crops and vegetables making them incur huge losses.
Maritha Mugure, a resident, says they have been forced to fetch water from the river in groups following a recent incident in which a number of them were chased by a hippo escaping death narrowly.
Michael Mbugua, a resident, explained how a group of men from the area recently rescued some women who had gone to fetch water from the river from almost being killed by the Hippos.
“We heard screams coming from the river and rushed only to find women running carrying water jerricans being chased by one of the hippos. We attacked it and it ran to the river, where we couldn’t trace it,” said Mbugua.
He says since the incident, no parent can dare send their children to this river for fear that they might not come back alive.
Even residents stopped being out in the evenings and are always home before 6pm.
“We even fear going to the farms to irrigate our crops. Our lives have been terrorized by these creatures. We get home before 6pm due to fear,” he said.
David Kariuki, a Nyumba kumi elder, says they alerted the Kenya Wildlife Service officials who visited the place some months ago, but never returned.
“They came to survey the destruction that the animals did to the farms, but they never came back. We want the animals to be removed from this river to give us peace and to continue with our farming activities uninterrupted. We need to be protected from these hippos,” they said.
By Preston Tony and Muoki Charles
