Two drown after hippopotamus capsizes canoe in Tana River
Two people, including a nine-year-old boy, drowned after a hippopotamus attacked and capsized their canoe while they were fishing in Shakababu Lake in Tana River County.
The victims were identified as Samson Ushindi, 20, and Michael Ngala, 9.
According to police, the incident occurred on Friday at Shakababu Lake in Gumba area, about two kilometres northwest of Tarasaa Police Station.
The pair had ventured onto the lake in a traditional canoe when it was struck by a hippopotamus, causing the vessel to overturn and throwing both into the water.
Police officers from Tarasaa Police Station, working alongside Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers from Garsen, visited the scene and confirmed the incident.
With the assistance of local residents, the bodies of the two victims were retrieved from the lake.
Police said the bodies had no visible external injuries and were taken to Malindi Mortuary, where they are awaiting post-mortem examinations.
Authorities have urged residents to exercise caution when fishing or travelling on water bodies known to be inhabited by hippopotamuses, which are among Africa’s most dangerous wild animals despite their seemingly docile appearance.
And a group of about 30 people attacked a Kenya Forest Service (KFS) outpost in Nyandarua County, looting officers’ personal belongings and attempting to set the camp ablaze in what police believe was a revenge mission following the arrest of a suspected forest offender.
According to police, the attack occurred at about 8.30 p.m. on Thursday at the KFS Kitiri Outpost in Kambi Mbao, North Kinangop Sub-County.
The two KFS rangers manning the camp reportedly received a tip-off from a well-wisher that a mob was approaching. They fled and hid in a nearby bush, avoiding a direct confrontation with the attackers.
The assailants broke into the officers’ houses and stole several personal items.
One ranger lost a six-kilogramme gas cylinder, a solar panel and a pair of gumboots. His colleague, Jonathan Muthama, lost a six-kilogramme gas cylinder, a pair of gumboots, a six-inch mattress, bedsheets and a radio.
The attackers also set the camp’s wooden fence on fire, but neighbours responded quickly and managed to extinguish the flames before they spread.
Police said preliminary investigations indicate the attack was a revenge and rescue mission linked to the earlier arrest of Nahashon Gakobo Mwangi, who had been charged before the Engineer Law Court with destruction of forest produce, specifically cedar trees.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
Police have launched investigations to identify and arrest those behind the raid.