Elephant kills man in Meru

Elephant kills man in Meru

By Mwenda Kinoti

A 52-year-old man was on Tuesday morning trampled to death by an elephant at Kathatene area of upper Imenti Forest in Meru County.

Ezekiel Kiriinya, a father of four who hails from Runkuru village in Buuri Sub-County, was an employee at Meru National Polytechnic where he worked as a security guard.

Mr. Kiriinya was heading home from work in the company of his four colleagues who 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 could not run fast enough and the jumbo knocked him down, trampled on him and he died on the spot,” narrated Isaiah Kimathi who was one of those walking with Kiriinya.

The deceased’s brother-in-law, Elias Muriungi, said the elephant that killed his kin had on numerous occasions been spotted roaming alone 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 the in-law.

The locals have however said that it is not the first incident that has happened along the road, calling on the government to erect electrical fence to contain the wildlife to 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” summed Janet Kathambi Thuranira.

The residents also appealed to the government to ensure that compensation is done to those who are affected.

Tags:

kws meru county Meru National polytechnic Buuri Sub County Elephant attack Kathatene Runkuru village Upper Imenti Forest

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