- Waweru, a peasant farmer, was attacked and killed by a stray buffalo as he was on his way back home from his farm in February 2018.
- This happened just a year after his wife, Esther Njambi, died.
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES
Their mother died of liver and kidney failure in 2017, their father was trampled and killed by a stray buffalo in 2018 rendering them total orphans.
This is the story of six orphans from Ndeu area, Hindi, in Lamu West, who have relentlessly pursued compensation for their father’s death in vain.
Eliud Ndung’u, 24, the second-born son of the deceased, Joseph Waweru Ndung’u, says life has been difficult for him and his five siblings after their father was killed by the animal as he left his farm in February 2018. He was their sole breadwinner.
The pursuit for compensation from the Kenya Wildlife Service for the last five years, which would have enabled them better lives, has been futile.
“When mom died in 2017, dad was the only one we had. He would hustle and pay our fees and feed us and life was bearable. When he was killed, we were devastated and have suffered ever since. The compensation money, which would have helped us, seems like a distant dream,” Ndung’u said.
Waweru, a peasant farmer, was attacked and killed by a stray buffalo as he was on his way back home from his farm in February 2018, just a year after his wife, Esther Njambi, died.
Ndung'u says his elder brother is physically challenged and cannot do much for himself, and relies on his grandmother for support.
“Dad’s plan before he died was for him to study a skill to enable him fend for himself but that hasn’t been possible because we don’t have money, and my grandmother is barely able to sustain all the six of us,” he said.
His two sisters dropped out of school due to lack of school fees and are teen mothers under the care of their grandmother.
“My younger sister is doing her KCPE exam this year while the youngest is in Class 7. It’s been a struggle because they all look up to me yet I have nothing. I am worried that my sister, the KCPE candidate, could end up like my other sisters and her future will be destroyed,” Ndung’u said.
The actuarial science graduate says he was able to make it through university through bursaries and Helb funding.
“Even then, I still don’t have a job. Watching the lives of my siblings destroyed because we don’t have money is sad,” he says.
He has appealed to the national government through the Ministry of Wildlife and Natural Resources and the KWS to intervene and help them get the compensation to rescue the family from poverty and to enable them to forge ahead with life.
“We need that to build ourselves a home because we don’t have any. That money will also enable me send my siblings to school and better our lives. We have nothing else except that money. My father paid the ultimate price for it,” he adds.
He also urged well-wishers to help send his sisters who are teen mothers back to school as they still have the urge to pursue their education.
“I'm calling on people of good will out there to help me send my siblings to school. My sisters are teen mothers but I believe they still have a chance at a better life."
Despite proving all the required documentation and filling all necessary forms, Ndung’u says the compensation remains elusive five years after the death of their father.
“I have been to all offices with all the required documents. They even let me know the money I'm claiming is Sh5 million but still, that hasn’t reached us. We need justice for the death of our father. If he were here, our lives would be better,” he said.
Contacted, Lamu county KWS boss Mathias Mwavita said though majority of wildlife attack compensation has been paid, a number remains delayed mostly due to family disputes, while others are pending approval.
He revealed recently that the government had released Sh30 million for compensation of wildlife attack victims.
“I will advise him to visit our offices so that we can ascertain why his case has taken that long to resolve. I believe there is a reason for that, which we will find out,” Mwavita said.
Julius Mwangi, the chairman of Lamu Persons Affected by Wildlife, acknowledged the existence of numerous cases of wildlife attacks that have not yet been compensated, despite the victims having fulfilled all the necessary requirements.
Mwangi called on relevant authorities to fast-track the processes and ensure victims are paid their monies on time.
“That’s the least that can be done for a family whose member has been killed by a wild animal. Not to mean that the money can equate to the life lost but to help them get by, especially if the deceased was a breadwinner,” Mwangi said.
Cases of human-wildlife conflict are rampant in Hindi division in Lamu West.
-Edited by SKanyara
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES