By James Wakahiu
The man-eater hyenas of Juja; a sad tale of tears and grief for fear-gripped residents
Hyena mauling cases are not new for villagers in Juja sub-county, Kiambu County, as scores of innocent locals have lost their lives in the jaws of the hounds and others left with life-threatening injuries.
Clans of hyenas have been roaming the villages including Nyacaba, Malaba, Athi, Juja Farm, Muthaara, Magomano, Mukuyu among others in Witeithie and Kalimoni wards, wreaking havoc and terrorizing residents with their vicious attacks.
Dennis Tiya, 10, is the latest victim of the attacks by the marauding predators whose dismembered body was recovered in a thicket at Gwa Kigwi village on January 3, 2024.
His father, Tiya Moinani, is still yet to come to terms with the sudden loss of his first-born son who was a grade four pupil at Thiririka primary school.
All that remains of the boy is a photo that the grieving father took him with his phone, and one that he dreads looking at due to the pain and sorrow it brings him.
On the fateful day, Moinani was escorted by his son as he headed to work but he didn’t know that was the last time he’d see him alive.
Moinani couldn’t hide his tears, explaining to journalists that losing his son at such a tender age was the worst experience of his life. He said that the boy had a bright future but was cut short by the jaws of the veracious hyenas.
He divulged that he has already relocated his family (two kids and their mother) to their rural village in Oloitoktok in Kajiado County for their safety. “We had just been blessed with a newborn so I had to take them back home where they will be safe and taken care of,” he noted.
In the neighboring Nyacaba village, the family of 10-year-old Emmanuel Kamande is grieving the loss of their son to the predators.
Kamande, a grade four pupil at Private Highway Academy in the village, fell prey to the predators on November 18, 2023, as he was heading home from a nearby church in the company of three other children.
His father Peter Ngugi has not uttered a word regarding the incident since it happened, according to Moses Nguyo , a close family member who disclosed that the boy’s death left a huge emotional scar in the family.
Nguyo said that the boy’s parents have been enduring agonizing days and nights and have become a former shadow of them since the incident occurred.
Two years ago, the hyenas attacked and killed nine-year-old Ryan Njoroge in the same village. He had stepped out of their house for a short call but never returned.
According to his father, Mark Njoroge, what was left of his son was his clothes, a piece of rib, and a spinal cord that were found in the thickets, a few meters from their home.
Earlier, the same year, Robert Mwangi, 35, a casual labourer in a local quarry was attacked by the wild animals as he walked to his Athi village home. His mutilated body was discovered by residents in a bush after his co-workers identified him through the clothes and boots he was wearing.
At Malaba village, just a few kilometers from Nyacaba village, another woman was attacked by the hounds but is lucky to be alive even though she was left nursing serious eye injuries.
Beatrice Wairimu, 42, was coming from a shop near her home in the company of her son on January 13, 2024, at around 8 pm when one huge hyena attacked them.
Wairimu said that she was rescued by her neighbors who promptly responded to her distress calls. The hyena vanished into the darkness and left her bleeding profusely.
She however noted that the attack left a huge dent in her life as she can no longer go to work due to constant headaches and dizziness.
The families of the victims called on the Government through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other authorities to intensify the crackdown on the hyenas that was launched in December last year.
Locals also expressed concerns saying that they are living in fear noting that even businesses have suffered the brunt of the menace.
They called on the government to speed up the process of compensating them for the loss of life and damages caused by the wild animals to bring the matter to closure and enable the families to heal.
Moinani said that he only received sh 30,000 as a consolation fund from KWS.
Nguyo also noted that Kamande’s family had completed all requirements by KWS for the release of the compensation and called on the authority to expedite the payment.
Fredrick Kisera, the warden in charge of Kiambu County in a meeting held at Nyacaba village divulged that families who lost their kin to the hyena attacks would be compensated to a tune of sh 5 million.
He also noted that they have set up more traps in villages across Juja to capture the hyenas and translocate them to Ol Donyo Sabuk Park.
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