Athlete attacked by hippos in Nyahururu

The Trabzon Half Marathon champion Edwin Mokua sustained injuries on his back and left shoulder after he was attacked by marauding hippos at the sprawling Manguu village in the outskirts of Nyahururu town.

The 27-year-old was in the company of his training partner Dennis Kipkosgei during an evening jog on Monday when the incident happened.

Realizing his partner had drifted out of sight and was not catching up, Kipkosgei tracked back to check on him only to discover a herd of hippos had charged on and injured him.

The athlete had just arrived from Kisii and was getting set to fly to Turkey for a marathon race he is to attend this weekend.

He was rushed to the Nyahururu Private Hospital where he received first aid, but was later transferred to Nyahururu County & Referral Hospital where he is recuperating and in stable condition.

According to his coach Francis Kamau, athletes training in Nyahururu moved to train in the open field near the Ewaso Nyiro river following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has called on the Government to re-open the stadium so that they can find a better place to train in order to avert similar incidents.

The attack came barely four days after another man was attacked by the hippos in the same area, and is now nursing serious injuries he sustained in hospital.

Over the past month, at least two people have been mauled to death and three others injured by the marauding hippos in Manguo village alone.

Residents now want the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to pitch tent at the Manguu hippo sanctuary to help tackle the rise cases of human-wildlife conflict.