Overgrown mathenge is frustrating efforts to retrieve the body of a boy, 11, who was attacked by a hippo in Lake Baringo.
Only the boy’s right hand has been retrieved. The hippo submerged in the water, taking the rest of the body.
The search for the Standard 5 pupil from Kampi ya Samaki Primary School entered the second day yesterday. The boy was swimming with his friends on Sunday at 6pm, when he was attacked.
“The process started early this morning but the fallen mathenge trees cover most of the lake shores,” Saimo-Soi ward administrator Obeta Sirma said.
Mathenge is an invasive thorny evergreen tree with a large, flat-topped crown.
Lake Baringo warden Jackson Komen led a team of more than 50 divers and the Kenya Wildlife Service officers to look for the body.
“We were in Kampi ya Samaki town then we heard the boys scream for help and we rushed to the scene,” resident Louise Juma said. Juma said they only found the boy’s right hand on the lakeshore. They unsuccessfully searched for the body until 7pm on Sunday.
grabbed left leg
Attempts by security officers to shoot the hippo were unsuccessful as it disappeared deeper into the lake. “The boy’s friends said they were swimming when the hippo pounced on him and grabbed his left leg. The children were unable to help him,” resident Dennis Kiptoo said
Baringo senior KWS warden Dickson Tonui said they are now wary of crocodiles as they search for the body. “Our worry is only crocodiles that may have smelled blood and may have eaten the body,” he said.
Tonui said KWS officers and residents have partnered to look for the body. The KWS official cautioned residents to keep off secluded areas of the lake.
He said these areas could be risky as some crocodiles lay their eggs and raise young ones there. Hippos too favour secluded areas.