Death of lions a big loss, says Wekesa

Maasai morans early on Wednesday speared six lions to death in a battle with the cats that lasted five hours from midnight.

The lions had strayed from the Nairobi National Park into a home in Ilkeek-Lemedungi Village, Kitengela, and killed 28 sheep and goats.

The livestock owner raised the alarm and about 50 young men turned up with spears, pangas and swords. Others came in vehicles and used full lights to herd the eight stray lions into a miniature tomb where the mob butchered them.

Two lions escaped. One man’s arm was mauled.

Witnesses said three armed Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) game wardens arrived at 3am and for about an hour, they prevailed in vain on the mob not to kill the animals.

The villagers are said to have demanded that the lions be sedated and taken away and the family promptly compensated for the loss. But the morans grew restless waiting for KWS veterinary officers with every passing second, and turned on the animals in what they said was “Operation Linda Ng’ombe”.

“We killed them in less than 10 minutes because KWS were slow to act. Why do they (lions) kill our animals and they are our only source of livelihood?” asked a resident who refused to give his name for fear of reprisals.

The morans vowed to kill more lions until the government fenced off the park and compensated them for losses running into millions of shillings.

Facing the law

“This is Operation Linda Ng’ombe and it will continue until the government finds a solution to the problem,” said another man.

Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa condemned the killings and warned the culprits that they would face the law.

“This is criminal, we are looking for them. I am told they have fled to Tanzania but we will arrest and take them to court,” he warned.

The minister said although the KWS took long to respond to the alarm, they restrained themselves from shooting the suspects who were determined to kill the lions.

“KWS dispatched rangers and a veterinary officer to search for the lions. While the search was on, the lions were killed by the mob,” said KWS communications manager Paul Udoto.

“The killing is a big loss given that lions enjoy an iconic status as one of the “Big Five” in the wild and draw many tourists to Kenya.”

Dr Wekesa asked people living near parks to alert KWS on stray animals instead of killing them.

But the Kitengela Elparago Land Owners Association said KWS was not working with the community to protect their livestock.

“We have reported several cases about the livestock that are being killed by the beasts but nothing much has been done,” said the association’s chairman, Mr James ole Turere.

He said two lions had on the same night killed a cow at Empakasi, while a cow, 15 sheep and 16 goats were killed on Sunday in the same area. Mr Turere said they had lost more than 80 livestock in three weeks.

“The lions broke into the animal pen. If they keep on attacking our livestock we are likely to be impoverished,” said Mr Joseph Matunke, who lost 32 goats, sheep and a cow in Empakasi.

Dr Wekesa said he had prepared a Bill to address the rising cases of human/wildlife conflict.

“Today, the law only compensates for loss of life and injuries but not loss of livestock or crops. The new Bill covers those as well,” he said.

Mr Udoto said the country had about 2,000 lions and was losing 100 lions a year, meaning the big cats could vanish from the wild in two decades. Nairobi National Park senior warden Mark Cheruiyot said the morans could have turned on the lions because they had not been paid for previous losses.

“We had a meeting with the livestock farmers in the area about two weeks ago and we had planned another this week yet they seem not to understand,” said Mr Cheruiyot.

A local leader, Mr Francis Kaesha, called for prompt compensation for losses caused by wildlife.

Currently, KWS pays Sh2,500 for a goat and Sh10,000 for a cow killed by a big cat. The farmers want the amount raised to Sh15,000 and Sh50,000 respectively.