Elephant kills an elderly man, terrorises residents

By JOB WERU

Laikipia County: A village in Laikipia County is mourning after a rogue elephant destroyed a homestead and killed an elderly man on Sunday evening.

The beast, which was in a herd of other elephants, terrorised the residents and chased them, and destroyed a fence surrounding a goats’ shed.

Nicholas Lempaira, a programme officer with Impact, a non-government organisation, said the elephant also chased off the estimated 400 goats. The owners had by yesterday morning not been able to trace them.

The deceased, Sironga Saidimu, 70, had retreated to his homestead after the elephants raided the neighbourhood.

Lempaira said the jumbos raided Kimanjo Village within Il’ Motiok Group Ranch at around 6pm, demolished the homestead and chased residents away, forcing them to spend the night in the cold.

The deceased’s son, Samuel Saidimu, said the elephant started destroying the house and pulled the man from the house before killing him. His daughter and a grandchild managed to escape.

“The elephants raided at around 6pm and started chasing away livestock. They also destroyed the goats’ shed and chased more than 400 sheep and goats into the forest,” said Saidimu.