Girl, 13, eaten by crocodile, starving family begs for help

It was mid-afternoon on August 9 when Cherup Sangut, 13, went to the shores of Lake Baringo to wash their clothes and bathe.

Suddenly an enormous crocodile lunged and grabbed her in its jaws. Her friends tried to pull her legs out and free her but the reptile held fast.

Katuwit primary school head teacher Samuel Korir said the beast pulled her deep inside the lake. She has never been seen again. Korir said she was in a jovial mood and promised to be first in class the next day.

Everyday her mother, 35, patrols the shores, hoping to find some piece of the dead girl to give her a decent burial.

Nothing. Whatever was left has been decayed and eaten. Still, maybe they could find a bone.

Today, the family — mother Toyoi Lokodong and two children—are desperate and begging for help. The mother is mentally disturbed, has no food, no work no energy.

They live in a hut made of sticks and twigs with plastic sheets tied down as roofing.

She cannot nurse her baby so she feeds it water.

Cherup was hardworking and helped her family survive. She was described as disciplined, jovial, clean and hardworking.

“My heart is yet to believe my beautiful first born daughter is dead and gone, her mother told the Star on Tuesday.

Since the tragedy, she has been combing the shores of the lake in case strong winds might push some recognisable body part to shore "so at least we can give her a decent send off," her mother said.

The father, David Sangut, said the family has surrendered everything to God and the government.

“I have already made an appeal to the government hoping to fast tract compensation for the mysterious loss of my daughter,” Sangut said.

Toyoi, 35, used to do menial jobs like fetching and selling firewood to feed her children. 

“My mind is still disturbed and I lost the energy completely to do any manual activity to feed my family” she said.

She herself is hungry, weak and emaciated. 

"There is no food in the house. I am so hungry so my child just sucks empty breasts, She said.

The one-year-old child was sickly, crying uncontrollably when the Star visited  remote Katuwit village on Tuesday.

Lokodong further said she cannot afford to take her sick child to the hospital because she lacks money, “I am also feeling sick, I need to seek medication but can’t get it," she said.

And so she appeals to well-wishers and the government to help her in any way possible to access medical services and food.

Relative Alvine Sangut said the family has been devastated by the loss of their child.

"Her mother is confused and always behaves like like she lost hope i life," she said.

A relative Alvine Sangut said it is true the family really suffered psychologically since she lost her child. “She has become confused and always behaved like she lost hope in life,” she said.

Her breastfeeding child is severely malnourished.

'The family needs urgent intervention before losing another life to hunger," she said.

Kenya Wildlife Service Baringo deputy warden David Cheruiyot said the situation was tricky  adding it's the first death to occur when the body is totally missing.

“We normally rely on some pieces of body parts as exhibits to confirm if actually the death was as result of a wild animal attack,” Cheruiyot said.

He said as of now, the girl will be considered missing awaiting a death declaration notice by the police, at the least in seven years.

“We are only urging the bereaved family to be patient as the lawful processes are being followed” he said. 

(Edited by V. Graham)