A 52-year-old man was on Tuesday attacked and killed by an elephant at Kathatene area of upper Imenti Forest in Meru County.
Ezekiel Kiriinya, who hails from Runkuru village in Buuri Sub-County, was heading home from work when the morning incident happened.
The father of four was an employee at Meru National Polytechnic where he worked as a security guard.
Kiriinya was in the company of his four colleagues when the elephant emerged from the bushes and attacked them. The deceased’s colleagues managed to escape unhurt.
“This happened at around 6.30am as we were heading home from work. The elephant just came from the bush and started chasing us. Unfortunately, he[Kirinya] could not run fast enough and the elephant knocked him down, trampled on him and he died on the spot,” narrated Isaiah Kimathi after surviving the Jumbo attack.
Elias Muriungi, the deceased’s brother-in-law, said the elephant had on numerous occasions been spotted roaming around the area and had severally attempted to attack passersby.
“The elephant is a lone ranger. Passersby are aware of its hide outs but it’s unfortunate that today the misfortune caught up with him. Let the KWS take up the responsibility because he was killed on the road,” said Muriungi as quoted by Citizen Digital.
The locals are now calling on KWS and the government to erect an electrical fence to contain the wildlife and end the rampant human-wildlife conflict in the area.
“This is a busy road. Our children use the route to go to school and the animals endanger their lives. There is another person who was recently killed and no action was taken. We want the authorities to take action,” said a resident, Janet Kathambi.
The residents have also appealed to the government to ensure that those affected are compensated.
