A 28-year-old athlete jogging along a river in Nyahururu was attacked by a hippo that clamped his jaws on him and tossed him up and down.
Edwin Mokuwa had just arrived from Kisii and was to fly to Turkey for a marathon this coming weekend
On Monday evening he went for an evening jog with his colleague Dennis Kipkosgei when he was attacked near the Ewaso Nyiro River in Manguu village. It's on the outskirts of Nyahururu town in Laikipia county.
He was seriously injured on the left shoulder and on his back.
Kipkosgei said he was running ahead of Mokuwa and there was quite a distance between them. After a while, he turned back, couldn't see him and decided to go back and look for him.
“I had noticed the hippo lying on the grass. An inner voice told me something must be wrong so I decided to go back and check on him.
"As I approached the hippo, I saw Mokuwa tossed in air. The hippo was biting, throwing him up and down,” he said.
Kipkosgei screamed and managed to scare the hippo briefly but by the time he reached his colleague the animal charged at him. Fortunately, a boda boda rider heard their cries and came to the rescue.
Mokua was rushed to the Nyahururu Private Hospital where he received first aid. He was transferred to Nyahururu County Referral Hospital where he is recuperating.
Doctors said he was in stable condition.
Coach Francis Kamau said athletes training in Nyahururu had to shift to train in an open field near the Ewaso Nyiro River after the county moved the Nyahururu market to the stadium in March because of Covid-19.
Kamau called on the government to reopen the stadium so athletes can train there again, avoiding the menace of hippos in the river.
The attack came four days after another man was attacked by hippos in the same area. He was admitted to hospital with serious injuries.
In the past one month, two people have been mauled to death and three others injured by the hippos in Manguo village alone.
Residents want KWS to camp at the Manguu hippo sanctuary to end human-wildlife conflict.
(Edited by V. Graham)
