Transport was disrupted on a section of the Nairobi- Mombasa Highway after residents staged protests over the spike in deaths recorded in the area.
Residents blocked the road at Mtito Andei in Makueni County, affecting motorists driving to Mombasa from Nairobi. Aggrieved residents lamented over recent attacks by wild animals, including elephants killing several people, especially at night.
The residents incurred huge losses due to the massive destruction of property and crops by wild animals.
Law enforcement officers were compelled to lob teargas to disperse the rowdy residents who had blocked the highway for hours.
By the time of publishing this piece, normal traffic flow was yet to be restored by the law enforcement officers working to end the gridlock.
"We always ask the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) to intervene, but that has never happened. As Mtito Andei residents, we appeal to the government to erect a permanent fence to stop wild animals from invading our homes," one protesting resident implored President William Ruto's administration.
"We don't want sustained human-wildlife conflict. That is why we are asking the government to give us solutions to address this matter," the resident added.
Besides erecting a permanent fence, the residents implored the KWS officers to increase surveillance in the area, especially since it served as a transport corridor used by truck drivers at night.
They also called on the Ministry of Tourism, led by Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza, to set up a rapid response system to help address emergency cases in the area.
Their sentiments came after Tourism CS vowed to scale up operations to address wildlife conflicts.
After becoming the first female to be elected President of the Governing Council of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), Malonza called on concerted efforts to end poaching and other human-wildlife conflicts.
Attorney General Justin Muturi concurred with Malonza arguing that new strategies had helped reduce poaching in the region.
"Notable milestones include the apprehension and prosecution of over 100 criminal kingpins involved in wildlife trade, effectively disrupting illegal international wildlife trafficking. Furthermore, wildlife security forces have successfully recovered various specimens, such as ivory, rhino horns, pangolin scales, sandalwood, primates, reptiles and birds," Muturi stated.
