Grandpa paralysed by elephant waits five years for pay

The morning was supposed to be like any other when Salim Ibrahim stepped out of his house in Ruiri village, Meru county, to take his grandson to school. 

But little did he know his life was about to change forever. 

On October 22, 2014, Ibrahim, who was then 60 years old, was walking his three-year-old grandson to school at 6am when an elephant came out of Imenti Forest and charged at them.  

He started running to draw the animal's attention and give the child a chance to run to safety. “It chased me for some metres when I suddenly fell down,” Ibrahim says.

The animal attacked him leaving him with serious injuries, he says, pointing to huge scars on his chest, stomach and back.

The attack left him paralysed. “I do not have five ribs in my right side, which has made my life difficult,” Ibrahim says. He lost the use of his right hand.

The child dashed back to their home safely. 

Ibrahim says the elephant attacked him for close to an hour before it was chased away by residents who responded to his cries.

Five years down the line he is still waiting to be compensated for the life-changing injuries. 

Ibrahim says he was promised Sh3 million by the Kenya Wildlife Service Meru office. However, he is yet to receive any information from the authorities.

His daughter Charity Salim, 41, says he was admitted at Meru General Hospital for two months.

“My father was unconscious. When I went to see him, he had a swollen head; I could not identify him,” she says.

Charity says her father should be among the beneficiaries of the Sh569 million recently released by the government. The money is meant to compensate victims on human-wildlife conflict.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet secretary Najib Balala said the ministry has strengthened community wildlife conservation committees to clear the backlog of compensation cases at the counties.

According to statistics provided by KWS, 452 human death claims were lodged between 2014 and 2017. Of the cases, 163 were approved and the families will be paid Sh800 million.

Some 119 cases totalling Sh595 million were deferred, while 170 claims amounting to Sh850 million were rejected.

Human injury claims lodged were 4,555. Of this, only 1,711 were approved for compensation. The victims will be given Sh549 million. Another 1,966 cases claiming Sh948 million were deferred and 878 cases worth Sh434 million were rejected.

Other claims were on crop damage (5,073 cases), livestock predation (3,012 cases) and property destruction (33 cases).

The money recently approved by the National Assembly will be shared out among 4,752 out of 13,125 victims whose claims have been approved.

The total money to be paid in compensation is Sh1.553 billion.

Some 4,722 cases, claiming up to Sh1.859 billion, were deferred until all documents needed are provided, while 3,651 cases amounting to Sh1.506 billion were thrown out.

Some of the reasons for rejection include providing unsigned documents and failing to report the matter to a police station.

The law requires Sh5 million be paid for human death, Sh3 million for injury with permanent disability and up to Sh2 million for other injuries depending on their extent.

Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya