Man mauled by lion in Ongata Rongai
Residents in the area said they live in fear because wild animals have been roaming near their premises. FILE PHOTO | AFP STRINGER
What you need to know:
- The lone lion had escaped from Nairobi National Park.
- Only his head and an arm were found at the scene with the lion still in the vicinity.
A middle aged man was eaten by a lion at Tuala, Oloosirkon Ward Kajiado East Constituency over the weekend and his remains found Monday morning.
The lone lion had escaped from Nairobi National Park which sent panic to residents living in the area.
Only his head and an arm were found at the scene with the lion still in the vicinity.
The man identified as Rono Kipkurui Simon had left his place of work Friday evening and was said to be heading home when the attack occured.
“He cooked food for some of his friends and at 10pm he said he was going home. No one thought of anything until Sunday when he didn’t report back to work,” said his brother Wilson Kibet.
His body parts were found on Monday morning by a passer-by at a bridge near Nazarene University, a few kilometers from Ongata Rongai town.
Residents in the area said they live in fear because wild animals have been roaming near their premises for a long time as authorities ignoring their complaints.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said it had launched a search operation to locate and sedate the lion.
“We are reaching out to the family of the deceased with a view to visiting and consoling with them. KWS urges members of the public to stay calm and not to venture out at night until the lion is captured,” KWS said in a statement to reporters late Monday.
The incident occurred outside the park’s southern periphery, KWS said. The park is ringed by electric fencing in parts but is not entirely sealed off, enabling traditional migration by game in search of food and water.
In October, a pride of lions strayed from the National Park and was spotted walking past Africa Nazarene University in Tuala area where the body parts were found.
In a shocking incident in 2016, a pride of lions attacked and partly ate a man in Rongai on the outskirts of Nairobi.
The attack took place at around 9pm at the Rongai-Rimpa area along the Rongai-Kiserian road.
It later emerged that the lions, which had strayed from the national park, have been roaming the neighbourhood the whole night causing panic among the residents.
In another sighting the same year, two lions strayed from the park and were spotted at Ngong Road forest along the Southern Bypass.
The park near Nairobi’s central business district is largely surrounded by an electric fence to keep the animals inside.
