KISUMU, Kenya, Dec 30 – Two children died on Wednesday after they were mauled by a rogue hippopotamus on the shores of Lake Victoria at Siungu Uhwaya beach in Bondo sub-county.
Siungu Beach Management Unit Secretary Erick Ochieng Nyatumba said the children were taking bath along the shore when they were ambushed by the hippo.
Ochieng said that the rogue hippo attacked and mauled the first child, a male in Grade I, at Siungu beach before walking along the lake shore towards Uhwaya area where it again attacked and seriously injured a Standard VIII boy, who is now recuperating in a local hospital.
A third child who was bitten in the stomach by the same hippopotamus was pronounced dead on arrival at Got Agulu Health Center, the BMU Secretary said.
Local fishermen said hippos have been roaming along the beaches in the area despite calls by fear-gripped residents to have the wild animals contained by the wildlife agency.
He called for government intervention through the Kenya Wildlife Services to have the rogue hippos tamed or relocated to end the human-wildlife conflicts in the area.
