A 45-year-old fisherman has died after he was attacked by a hippopotamus in Muhuru Bay along the shores of Lake Victoria.
The Saturday incident occurred after the man, a Tanzania national, allegedly went on a fishing expedition to Lake Victoria.
Nyankondo Beach management chair Jared Songora said the man only identified as Nyakuti was attacked by the hippo as he cast his net in the lake.
According to Songora, the attack was so swift and sudden that even frantic calls for help by his colleagues could not do much.
"We alerted him that there was a hippo coming by but he could not swim fast enough and was caught up in the attack. The hippo tore him to pieces and drove him inwards," he said.
Songora said divers helped retrieve the badly mutilated body before the relatives transferred the body to Tanzania.
Local residents now claim the beach has been infested by hippos which have prevented them from carrying out their fishing activities in the lake.
They are now appealing to the government to help address the menace which has resulted in the loss of lives.
"The government should help us out of this menace that has crippled our fishing activities in the lake. We have lost many people to constant hippo attack," said Songora.
Last two people including a class eight pupil were killed in a hippo attack at the same place.
The government is yet to provide a solution to the human-wildlife conflict in this area.
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