A group of hippos attacked and killed a middle aged worker at the Naivasha sewer plant who was on duty.
The hippos that have invaded the plant for the last three years seriously injured the worker before he was pronounced dead on arrival at a Naivasha hospital.
Angry at the incident, area residents led by two MCAs issued 24 hour-notice to the Kenya Wildlife Service to move in and remove the animals or they would kill them.
A senior KWS officer who tried to intervene and cool the workers' tempers had a hard time as the animals said to be seven continued to camp in one of the ponds.
A worker, Antony Njogu, from Naivasha Water, Sewerage and Sanitation Company, narrated how his colleague was attacked as he worked in the ponds.
He said they worked in fear as the animals had permanently camped in the plant since 2020, putting their lives in danger.
“We are working in fear as the numbers of the hippos continue to increase and we are calling on KWS to move in and remove them,” said another worker, Simon Mwangi.
Viwandani MCA Alex Mbugua while issuing a 24-hour notice to KWS noted that cases of attacks by wild animals had become common in Naivasha.
He threatened to mobilise area residents and kill the animals, which in the past attacked a farmer and a student on his way home.
“We have buffaloes in Kayole that are also terrorising area residents and we shall no longer stand back and watch but deal with them ruthlessly,” he said.
This was echoed by his Lakeview counterpart Mwangi Muraya, who said that the workers would no longer work in the facility due to fear of attacks.
“We are tired of empty promises by KWS as families continue to lose lives and we shall not watch as more lives are lost,” he said.
A survivor of one of the hippo attacks, Peter Njuguna, said he had not been compensated and that he had been turned into a beggar.
Speaking on phone, the chief executive officer of NAIWASSCO Nahashon Wahome pointed an accusing finger at KWS for failing to act despite several letters seeking their intervention.
“We do not have the capacity to deal with the hippos that have invaded one of our ponds and we have sought intervention from KWS for years without any support,” he said.