Rogue crocodile kills teenager, attacks fisherman at Ngege beach in Kisumu

What you need to know:

  • Otieno’s cousin, Raphael Oluoch narrated how the crocodile jumped at the teenager as they prepared to take a bath in the lake.
  • Otieno’s mother, Florence Ominde was so shocked by the news that she could not speak to the media.
  • Last week crocodiles and hippos broke down a fence at Kisumu International Airport, endangering the safety of planes and passengers.

A crocodile with a seemingly insatiable appetite for human flesh on Sunday afternoon killed a teenager and seriously injured a fisherman at Ngege beach in Kisumu.

The crocodile, that the Kenya Wildlife Service said had killed one person two months ago, attacked and killed 16-year-old Duncan Otieno before seriously injuring a fisherman even as the search for the body went on.

So daring was the crocodile that as hundreds of residents assembled on the shores of Lake Victoria to search for the body, news came in that it had snatched another man, sending the village into panic.

The two cases have painted what residents now say is a disturbing picture of human-wildlife conflicts that are on the rise on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Last week, Kisumu International Airport officials held a meeting with the local wildlife agency over the crocodiles and hippos after they broke down a fence at the facility, endangering the safety of planes and passengers.

BATHING IN THE LAKE

Otieno’s cousin, Raphael Oluoch narrated how the crocodile jumped at the teenager as they prepared to take a bath in the lake.

“He removed his clothes first, and as we prepared to move into the water, the crocodile moved in for him and grabbed him.

“The animal kept twisting him in the air as it devoured him alive as we watched helplessly,” a distraught Oluoch told the Nation at Kotetni Village in Otonglo, Kisumu County.

Otieno’s mother, Florence Ominde was so shocked by the news that she could not speak to the media.

A wildlife official who could not be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media told the locals that the crocodile was dangerous, but that the agency was doing its best to capture it.

“We are doing our best, and with your help, we hope to retrieve the body soon,” he said before being interrupted by the news of another crocodile attack.