Roaming lions of Rongai: Fear hangs in the air as KWS now sets traps for killer animal

When he made his way towards the dogs, he was shocked to see a huge lioness already attacking one of the dogs, inside their compound in Olmeut Village, Rongai. 

The lioness had scaled up the perimeter wall, jumped into the compound and subdued one of the dogs. Its sharp teeth had been sunk into the dog’s throat. 

Isigi quickly took a metal rod and scratched the iron sheets in a bid to scare the lioness. This trick worked, but the hungry big cat was determined to make away with its kill. 

A spotcheck by Citizen Digital in the compound shows fresh paw prints on the grass, where the lioness subdued and killed the dog, as Isigi helplessly watched. 

The lioness dragged away its kill, scaled the same wall on the same spot and made away with the dog. Isigi called his employer who was away that night. When the employer checked the cctv footage on her phone, she was shocked to see the lone lioness survey the fence from the outside, before jumping on the perimeter wall.

There, the lioness keenly surveyed the compound as if to mark its target, before jumping in and attacking the dog.

“The other dogs really wanted to go and save their colleague but this fence here (he points to a wire mesh separating the compounds) prevented them. When I scratched the iron sheets the lioness was scared but made away with the dog which it had subdued and killed in a minute,” Isigi said.

The widely circulated CCTV footage shows the lioness dropping into the road with the dog in its grip, before making a turn and dragging it towards the same direction it came from. 

“This is the first incident to happen in this compound, however, lions have attacked dogs before in the neighbourhood. But this is very scary because I am imagining what would have happened if the lion found a human being?” Isigi posed.

Residents of Olmeut village are now living in fear, with most of them forced to return home early to avoid lion attacks.

The village is close to the Nairobi National Park, which residents say is not properly fenced to avoid wildlife escape. 

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) placed a trap in the compound after the lion scaled the perimeter wall, with the hope that the stray lioness would return for the other three dogs. 

“KWS said this trap will be able to catch the lioness so that they relocate it to another location. We hope it does not come back because now we can’t even operate normally within the compound,” Isigi said. 

He urged KWS to properly fence the park to avoid wild animal attacks on homes in the area. 

Area residents also expressed concern over the frequent wild animal attacks in the area. 

Martin Shikuku, a local labourer, said there have been lion, hyena and leopard attacks in the past, but this was scary because the lion scaled a perimeter fence. 

“These days you cannot imagine yourself on the road by 7pm because you don’t know if the lions are lying waiting somewhere. We have to be extra cautious and get home early to be safe,” Shikuku said.

He added that businesses in the area have been affected as owners have to close early because there are no people to serve.

His sentiments were echoed by Josephat Kirui, a security guard in Olmeut Village. Kirui said he dreads going to open the gate for his boss because his place of work is close to the homestead that was attacked. 

“By 7pm me and my dog are inside. Even going to open the gate for the boss is a challenge because you don’t know if the boss will come in with the lion. We are very scared after this incident,” Kirui said.

The residents have urged KWS to do what it takes to contain the animals in the park. They are calling for proper fencing of the park to avoid such conflict and threat to lives.