Crops in danger as monkeys defy angry women
From The Standard
July 7, 2009


A big, male baboon jumps over a low euphorbia fence into a lush field of green maize.

It quickly plucks two ears of green maize and proceeds to chew them in turns, posing to look around.

The animal brings in tow a large troop of other baboons and monkeys of all sizes, which quickly wreak havoc on the ripe maize field.

A farmer, Monica Wambui, whose field has been invaded, calls for help from other women guarding their maize shambas. They team up, hitting empty cans to try to scare off the marauding primates, but the baboons ignore them and go on with their looting spree.

Calling men

"They don’t run away from women, please rush to the market and call some men, these things (monkeys) will finish all the maize before harvest," Wambui yells frantically.




The area is Kimuchu village near Juja, Thika district, where large troops of monkeys from nearby Kilimambogo National Park have been raiding farms and decimating maize plantations.

Most men in the area are out in the towns for casual jobs and return to the villages in the evening or on weekends.

"Sometimes women have had to wear like men in a bid to scare the monkeys away," Wambui says.

"I doubt if I will harvest anything this time, I had invested so much in my farm only for baboons to destroy everything," she laments.

The story is the same for farmers from Ndarugu area. Mrs Angelina Njeri Ng’ang’a says she expects less than five bags of maize from a farm that gives her over 60 bags during good harvests.

Maize, however, is not the only crop that is being targeted by the animals.

Monkeys, which Njeri says are wasteful and destructive, have destroyed her cassava, vegetables and fruits among others.

The residents say this is not the first time their food crops have been devoured by the beasts from the park, but in the past, destruction had been minimal.

Apart from monkeys, zebras also walk into the farms at night and devour crops.

Maize farm

Monkeys invade at dawn or dusk and a 50-strong troop can sweep through a one-acre maize farm in 20 minutes.

"They pluck an ear, bite once, discard and pluck another. They get used to the debe noise we make and they don’t run away from women. In fact they threaten to attack when you approach too close," says Lydia Mwangi.

But when a man, even a young boy, charges at them, they take off, she says.

"They are very destructive, they uproot even onions which they do not eat and scatter them all over," she says.

Farmers say they have repeatedly reported the matter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Kenya Wildlife Services but no one has come to their rescue.

The local officer in charge of KWS, Mr Peter Kavitha says he has not ignored the reports.

Farmers complain

"We have received complaints from farmers in parts of Thika district and gone to their rescue, but are yet to get complaints from Kimuchu area. I would advice them to report at Juja, where we have an outpost," says he. In the meantime, the villagers have resorted to hiring watchmen to keep vigil at dawn and dusk.

Villagers say the monkeys become cheeky when they have eaten to their fill.

"They sometimes sneak into our homesteads and bask on the rooftop after eating cassava and sweet potatoes," Mary Njeri says.

According to the KWS officer, a Bill to pave way for compensation after such attacks was rejected by parliament.