Villagers residing along the shores of Lake Victoria in Suba North Constituency, Homa Bay County, have decried increasing cases of hippo attacks in the area that have lately left a class six pupil dead on Thursday last week.
The boy identified as Tonny Achar is said to have been fetching water from the lake before the attack that saw the water beast maul him to death.
According to Homa Bay County Beach Managent Unit Chair Edward Oremo, the incidence has since toughened life and fishing in the area which largely depends on fishing as its economic pillar.
He added that several fishermen and villagers have either died or escaped with scars and injuries emanating from encounters with the hippos.
“Several fishermen and villagers living near the lake have either been killed or injured by hippos," he told the Nation.
In the case of the deceased, he said, people at the shores helplessly watched as the boy was killed due to fear of attempting to salvage him from the jaws of death.
“Those who were on the shore were helpless. They could not do anything for fear that the animal would attack them too," added Oremo.
Confirming the incident, area OCPD Charles Mwango said that the body of the deceased was taken to the Med 25 mortuary pending burial.
The residents are now calling upon the Kenya Wildlife Service to step in and salvage the people from the pending calamity.