Makueni man who survived hyena attack in 2020 killed by elephant

A Makueni man who survived a hyena attack three years ago has died following another attack by a marauding elephant.

In a case that highlights the bad situation of human-wildlife conflict in the county, Mzee Musili Musembi was walking home at Ilikoni village in Kibwezi East Constituency on Wednesday night when the lone jumbo attacked him.

Witnesses raised an alarm but the animal continued trampling the peasant to death, sending the sleepy neighbourhood into mourning.

Angry residents draped the victim’s body in the national flag and prevented the police from collecting it for hours to protest the “lacklustre” response by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) wardens to the wild animals’ menace in the region bordering Tsavo East National Park.

For the better part of Thursday, the body remained at the scene where the jumbo had snuffed out the life of the peasant.

The residents demanded to be addressed by Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Penina Malonza.

They also wanted KWS to kill the rogue elephant. 

“We are tired of rampant attacks by elephants. The government has turned a blind ear to the plight of farmers in this region,” Muli Mulevu, a resident, lamented.

The police fired tear gas and opened fire to disperse the villagers before collecting the body.

They later took it to the Kibwezi Hospital mortuary. The father of six was 72 years old.

According to his younger brother Vincent Makau, he was a member of the local Nyumba Kumi cell.

“He confronted a hyena that had attacked our livestock in 2020,” his widow, Josepheter Mutheu, said.

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