By Betty Luke
A youthful man from Manyatta Demo village in Garbatulla, Isiolo County is nursing serious wounds following yesterday’s attack by a stray elephant.
Mr Hassan Guyo was herding about two kilometers away from their home when he bumped into some jumbos with one of them attacking him, occassioning serious injuries on the left side of his chest.
“It hit me hard with the trump and I fell down. I struggled on the ground and managed to the road before I got help from a motorbike rider, shared Mr Guyo who is admitted at a private hospital in Isiolo town.
The patient was rushed to Garbatulla Sub-County hospital and later referred to Isiolo Referral Hospital but the victim couldn’t access services due to a go-slow by unpaid workers.
“We arrived in Isiolo town last evening via private means as the ambulance at the Sub-County hospital is faulty,” said Guyo’s father Omar Boru.
According to the hospital’s Medical officer Dr Mohammud Abdikadir, the patient suffered serious injuries on the majority of the tissues on the chest including the muscles and vessels among others.
“He was hit on the chest and the blood vessels, nerve supplies and many other issues were damaged. The tusk nearly reached the heart,” said Dr Abdikadir adding that the patient had also lost a lot of blood.
The medic revealed that the facility had received six patients attacked by wild animals from Garbatulla Sub-County within the last two months.
“It seems there is a serious human-wildlife conflict in the area because we have had patients attacked by a buffalo, lions, a crocodile and now an elephant from the same area,”he said.
The family appealed to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to intervene and ensure the elephants are returned back to the park to avert further attacks on human beings.
While noting that human-wildlife conflict was rife in the area, Mr Boru said the residents were living in fear as some of the animals were invading into their homes and farms.
“We have had many cases of elephant attacks and some people have even lost their lives. There is a need for immediate intervention to ensure residents go on with their business uninterrupted and without fear of attack,” he said.
Boru appealed to local elected leaders: Governor Abdi Ibrahim Hassan Guyo, Senator Fatuma Dullo, Isiolo South MP Mohammed Tubi and Woman Rep Mumina Bonaya to help him take care of the hospital bill which had accumulated to Sh100, 000 by Monday.
