A woman who lost her limbs and an eye after she was attacked by hyenas at Tsavo National Park along Mombasa - Nairobi Highway is crying for justice and compensation.
The middle-aged lady from Makueni County, on Saturday, August 12, urged President William Ruto to intervene after Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) failed to include her among the victims lined up for compensation.
In 2018, the lady applied to Kenya Wildlife Service, seeking compensation due to the injuries she sustained from the hyena attack, and has since been following up on the matter with hopes of being rewarded.
According to the woman identified as IM, KWS excluded her without giving her any reasons whatsoever.
In an attempt to seek clarification, Kenyans.co.ke reached out to Kenya Wildlife Service but the call went unanswered.
The Hyena Attack
On August 17, 2018, IM was reportedly thrown out of a lorry by a driver who had given her lift at night. The two allegedly disagreed over some issue, leading to a bitter exchange of words and her eventual ejection from the moving lorry.
The lady was left at the mercy of marauding hungry hyenas, which immediately descended on her. Consequently, she lost her left eyeball and sustained deep scratch marks on her chest, besides suffering severe traumatic amputation on the left hand above the elbow joints.
IM was admitted to the Makindu Sub-District Hospital, where first aid was administered before she was moved to the Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Kijabe Hospital and Lions Sightfirst Eye Hospital.
John Mutunga, the medical officer at the Machakos Level 5 Hospital, noted that the lady suffered severe bodily injuries which permanently left scars all over her body.
“The degree of permanent incapacitation is estimated at 60 per cent,” Mutunga stated.
Her husband added that his wife was waiting for an artificial left eye and an artificial upper prosthetic limb replacement but also pleaded with KWS to fast-track the compensation process.
“Efforts to get compensation from KWS has not borne any fruit as we continue to be taken around circles,” her husband told the media.
Seeking Compensation
The lady stated that her application was well within the provisions of the Kenya Wildlife Management and Compensation Act of 2013, which mandates KWS to recompense victims of wildlife attacks.
The amount of compensation payable depends on the severity of the loss or injury. Normally, the compensation for death is Ksh5 million, while the compensation for permanent disability is Ksh3 million.
In the Finance Act 2023, the government allocated Ksh908 million for compensation to victims of human-wildlife conflict. This money will be used to compensate victims of conflicts that occurred between 2014 and 2019.
