Reports Leo Odera Omolo
NATURAL calamities and disaster have hit Kenyans so hard in the past one week with reported death by a man trampled by elephant, while two people drown after their fishing boat was hit by a rogue hippo in Lake Victoria.
In the last two weeks, the lightning strikes left three Kenyans dead, and at the same time there were two incidents of big cats devouring domestic animals in Murang’a County and, and in Nyahururu.
The incident in which two fishermen drawn while on fishing expedition in Lake Victoria when heir boats was hit by a rogue hippo took place near Uhanya Beach in Usenge Division, Bondo district within Siaya County occurred on Monday.
Four fishermen had set on a fishing expedition in Lake Victoria when a five tone rogue bull of hippo attacked their boat and sunk it violently. Two of the fishermen managed to swam to safety, but two of their colleagues were unlucky. Up to the time of writing this report the bodies of Fred Ochieng 42 and Dancan Ochjonjo 20 were yet to be retrieved from the water.
The Assistant Chief of the area Manaseh Osur identified the survivors as Bill Omondi and Musa Okaka.
A 75 year old woman was strike dead by thunderbolt in Adanya village in Teso district within Busia County in Western Province.Rose Idanya 75 had gone out in the rain to pick up some of her utensils when the lightning struck.
The Area Assitant Chief Zachary Olekete has cautioned the residents against engaging in risky activities, especially during the down pour as the rainy season started. He further asked head teachers of all the primary schools in his area to ensure that they install lightning arrestors in all classrooms and important buildings within their schools compound.
His particular incident came only a week after two young men who had taken a shelter under a tree were struck dead by lightning near Mwakitau in Taita-Taveta district at the Coast Province.
Another incident in Keiyo district in the North Rift a woman and her daughter dead after lightning hit their home during the late afternoon heavy down pour.
In the same Taita-Taveta district a man was trampled to death by a rogue elephant. The incident took place last Sunday forcing the officials of the Kenya Wildlife Services {KWS} to mount the ground and air operation aimed at driving back to the close to 200 herds of elephants which had invaded the area and were causing havoc with human lives and food crops.. back to the nearby Tsavo West National Game Park where the jumbos are suspected to have come from before invading the villages causing havoc with human live and destroying a lot of food crops in the field.
The elephants had imposed dawn to dusk curfew forcing the children to abandon their studies In the nearby schools.
In Nyahururu a suspected ,female leopard which had strayed in the farming villages is blamed for having killed close to 35 goats and sheep. A farmer at Gichaka village in Olkalou constituency is now counting his loses after the beast had attacked her leopard her curbs attacked and killed her nine sheep on Tuesday morning.
Mrs Gechia Karichu the nine sheep were part of a flock of 23 she had taken to grazing shed near her house. But soon after returning to the house, three of the sheep came back bleating with one of them having been mauled in the leg. But when he went out to check what had happened to the sheep she found the carcasses of the nine sheep strewn allover.
The residents told the newsmen that the same leopard had killed many goats , sheep and dogs in the village in the last two weeks.
The area MP Erustus Mureithi who visited the scene appealed to the government to compensate the farmers who had lost their animals in such attacks by big cat.
The next incident involving the attack by a leopard was in Gikuyu Sub-Location in Murang’a district where a marauding male leopard killed seven sheep on Monday night. The big cat is reported to have strayed in the village from the nearby Mount Kenya Forest which was recently devastated by the wildfire.
The beast is also reported to have already devoured close to 5o goats and sheep during the last three weeks and it is so elusive that the villagers in collaboration with the armed game rangers have hunted it without success.
On Monday night at about 4.A.M a resident Mr Justus Mwan in bed woke up to a rude shock after he found the carcasses of seven sheep killed.
In unrelated story, an official of the KWS in Tsavo East National Game Park has made a startling revelation of people who have been faking snake bites so tat they could compensated. This discovery was made after it was detected that nearly all the companion forms were signed b only one doctor.
The Senior Kenya Wildlife Service Samuel Bukura said some people re known to have cut their legs using razor blades to fake snake bite or the purpose of getting compensated b the government.
The scam was discovered after many people had presented the forms bearing their claims for compensation after faking snake bite incidences.
“Most claims lodged in our offices, are bearing the signature o only one doctor paving he way for suspicion that the forms were fake. This , he aid is a clear indication that the compensation exercise is grossly being abused.
Bukura revealed that the government has set aside and released the colossal amount of Kshs 2.6 million which is to be paid out as compensation to the families of those people who were either killed and injured by wildlife in the coastal district of Taita-Taveta The issuing of payment of cheques and cash has been delayed because the people involved did not provide the officials with the correct information.
The payment has been categorized for those killed will be compensated with Khs 200,000 while those who sustained bodily injuries a result of attack by wildlife would be paid Kshs 50,000.mT in this category include the genuine cases of snake bites, and it is what has made so many people fake the injuries. Some have inflicted injuries n their bodies using razor blade top look like snake bites.
Ends