Uganda: Elephant Victim Moved to Mulago Hospital
7 September 2009



Kampala — MUSTAFA Batanyenda, the Rukungiri man who was seriously wounded by a marauding elephant, has been transferred to Mulago Hospital where he is expected to undergo a major operation this week.

Mulago Hospital spokesperson Erifazi Ssekabira said on Thursday the patient's wounds were being treated in preparation for the operation. He noted that Batanyenda sustained broken jaws.

Batanyenda was attacked by the elephant in his garden in Kihihi on August 27. The animal reportedly hurled him against a tree, tearing his mouth. Dr. Ronald Kasyaba of Nyakibale Hospital in Rukungiri attended to Batanyenda before the patient was transferred to Mulago Hospital.

He said Batanyenda's wounds were serious and needed extensive reconstructive surgery. Kasyaba reported that Batanyenda's lower jaw had been shattered. "The mandible bone appears to have been broken, leaving the tongue hanging, but I am hopeful he can make it," he said.

He also said the passage for feeding had been blocked and the patient was being fed through a tube. The airtube was also partly blocked. Nurses at Mulago's Ward 1A on Friday said Batanyenda was responding to treatment well.

They were optimistic that he would be restored to normal. Batanyenda could only murmur due to the severe injuries. Batanyenda was picked from Rukungiri by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.


The Queen Elizabeth National Park chief warden, Tom Okello, cleared the sh223,000 bills incurred at Nyakibale Hospital and provided fuel for the ambulance to evacuate the patient. Batanyenda was given sh100,000 as pocket money.

Batanyenda's plight was brought to light after Dr. Kasyaba approached The New Vision to publish the incident.

He said since the attack, the patient had only received emergency care, because he could not afford transport to Mbarara or Mulago hospitals where he had been referred.

UWA spokesperson Lillian Nsubuga said the authority was 'working out some assistance for the victim'.

She said although compensation was not provided for in the Wild Life Act, the authority had always provided assistance to the affected people.

Uganda: Uganda Wildlife Authority Warns Encroachers
Stephen Otage
7 September 2009


Kampala — Encroachers should keep off game reserves if they want to live in harmony with the wildlife, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has warned. This follows an incident last week where a herd of elephants attacked and hurled Mustafa Batayenda 41, on a tree shattering his jaws while he was clearing a garden near Queen Elizabeth National Park.

While visiting the victim last Friday at Mulago Hospital, the Executive Director of UWA, Mr Moses Mapesa told journalists: "As the population continues to grow, there is increasing encroachment on game reserves. People who live near these places know that these are wild animals. Like they have done before, they should take precautionary measures."

At the time of the visit, the victim who is in the oral ward in Mulago, had a bandaged head with a mixture of blood and saliva drooling from his shattered mouth. The Public Relations Manager of UWA, Ms Lillian Nsubuga, said they will ensure that the victim's face is restored. She urged people living near game reserves not to look at wildlife as enemies and desist from carrying out activities near the game park.