Lamu fishermen stalked by jaws of killer hippos


Updated 22 hr(s) 3 min(s) ago
by Patrick Beja

The terror depicted in Jaws, an American thriller film featuring a killer white shark, is replayed to unwitting residents of a fishing village in Lamu District.

Killer hippos that lurk on a wide stretch of the River Tana have been attacking fishermen, killing some and maiming others.

The hippos, said by wildlife experts to have become aggressive due to encroachment on their habitat, have left several men limping on one leg and many women widowed.

Moa village in Nyongoro area, perches on a section of the river that widens into a delta, before it finally empties into the Indian Ocean. The village is inhabited by about 800 fishing families who immigrated from Nyanza to lower Tana about 30 years go. Onyango presents the fate of about 800 fishing families from Luo

The John Onyango, who was among the first batch of fishermen to arrive at Moa in 1976, is representative of the high price many in the fishing community have had to pay n the river that teems with hippos and giant crocodiles.

The father of 10 had a violent encounter with a hippo a few years ago and lost one leg.

"An angry hippo ambushed me, hit my canoe and made it to capsize. With its powerful teeth, it bit off my leg and left me for the dead," recalls the fisherman who now limps to the river with the support of crutches.

The beast, he explains, pulled him out of the canoe after biting his leg and continued chewing it as he cried out for help.

His son managed to arrive with a rescue team of fishermen who scared away the animal.

Onyango, 65, still fishes using a dugout canoe that is the common mode of fishing here.

Next door, Mama Christina Osolo mourns the last of her seven children who was also claimed by a charging hippo near the same spot where Onyango lost his leg.

Christina recalls how the life of Agola Oloo, 33, was cut short by a hippo in August, last year, rendering her destitute.

"I had lost my husband Oloo Osolo and my other six children just a few years earlier through other causes. Agola used to fish and fend for me and his wife and three children but the hippo took his life," she says, pointing at his fresh grave in the compound.

Fending for grandsons

We found Christina weaving mats for sale to raise money to buy food as grandsons Elvis, Starlon and Brian played around her.

"My husband was a fisherman and once survived a hippo bite on his hand before he died of sickness. I have to make mats and baskets to fend for the children left under my care," the widow says.

Also widowed by the hippos menace is Elizabeth Narima whose husband, Eliud Ochieng, was dragged into the water by a hippo. His body was never found. She was recently inherited by her brother-in-law.

"Ochieng had been a fisherman in this river for many years but the worst happened one evening. His boat was attacked by a hippo and it capsized. Fishermen searched for his body for about a week in vain," she says.

Victim survived

Another fisherman, Gilbert Obange survived a hippo attack three years ago after his fellow fishermen screamed for help when his boat was toppled by a raging animal.

Due to the danger, most fishermen only venture into the river during the day and avoid the evenings when hippos lurk on the banks. That has reduced their harvest since night fishing yields high catches.

Villagers also observe a dusk-to-dawn curfew as the aggressive beasts graze up to their doorsteps at night.


Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials said the situation in Moa was being addressed in a bid to minimise the human and wildlife conflict.

Coast KWS Assistant Director Simon Gitau urged the villagers of Moa to report any cases of animal aggression to KWS.

"We are going to send our officers to assess the situation. We appeal to residents to work closely with us," Gitau said.

KWS compensates people killed or maimed by wildlife. Onyango, who lost his leg, was paid Sh50,000 which is stipulated for loss of a limb.

However, most of the victims are ignorant and do not claim damages. Narima, whose husband’s body was never found, says she has filled a form for compensation by KWS, but her claim is yet to be settled since the body was never found.

A report compiled by a local NGO that assessed the human and wildlife conflict in the Tana Delta, two years ago, concluded that over 20 people are attacked by hippos and crocodiles every year.

Migrated

Most of the fishing families settled at Moa from 1976 from Kisumu, Alego, Bondo, Homa Bay, Ahero, Rachuonyo and Migori to join a small group who had migrated in the 1960s.

Moa village, located about five kilometres off the Lamu-Malindi road, near Witu Township, is dotted with traditional Luo huts and many fish drying bans.

Councillor Mr Abdullahi Bocha Guracho says both fishermen and pastoralists were victims of wildlife attacks.

Shouldn't be a problem for very long. The politicians in Nairobi are selling off the delta as fast as they can. Once they have received their kick backs there won't be anything left down there.

A sugar company, Mat International, is acquiring over 30,000 ha of land in Tana Delta and another 90,000 ha in adjacent districts. The company has not carried out any environmental and social impact assessments.

Bedford Biofuels Inc, a privately-held multinational company based in Canada, is in the process of acquiring land through 45-year lease agreements. Its intention is to transform over 90,000 ha of land in Tana River District into biofuel farms, mainly growing Jatropha curcas.

Tiomin Kenya Ltd, a company incorporated in Canada, wants to mine titanium in the Tana Delta, and is in discussions with the local government authorities.

Qatar has asked Kenya to lease it 40,000 ha of land in Tana Delta to grow crops, in exchange for support for a major new port in nearby Lamu town.

That's a total of almost 400,000 acres.