Residents of two Lugari subcounty villages are living in fear after monkeys invaded their homes and one tried to snatch a baby.
They fear their children could be killed.
The occupants of Lumama village in Lugari location and Baharini village in Lumakanda say hundreds of the monkeys have moved out of Lugari forest and camped on the banks of River Lumakanda. They launch invasions from there.
Priscah Muswanyi said the primates have destroyed pumpkins on her farm.
“They have, on several occasions, sneaked into my house and stolen food apart from trying to steal my baby,” she said.
They said apart from destroying crops, the animals also sneak into the houses and eat whatever edible stuff they come across.
Phanice Wangila said the animals were so daring that they chased her while she went to fetch water from a nearby spring.
Stephen Situma said the monkeys snatched food from an elderly woman who was eating lunch outside her house.
The villagers have warned children against playing unsupervised for fear they will be attacked.
They are appealing to the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Wildlife Service to return the animals to their original habitat.
Edited by R.Wamochie
