Nairobi — Naivasha Water and Sewerage Company (NAIVAWASCO) employees are calling for a relocation of the hippos from Lake Naivasha following the death of their colleague after a hippo attacked him.

The deceased Francis Wachira was attacked on September 22 while at his duty station at the Naivasha Sewerage treatment plant.

Antony Njogu, a colleague of the deceased, said Wachira was attacked while on his way to the office after winding up his assignment at the treatment plant.

"This where one of us was attacked by the hippos while he was coming back to the station after doing his work. He sustained injuries and was rushed to Kijabe Hospital, but he succumbed to them," he said.

The employees said the relocation of hippos from the lake will help avert future attacks.

"We ask KWS if they can relocate the hippos and take them to where they're supposed to be so that they can't interfere with people working around," Njogu said.

Compensation claims

The employees also asked the Kenya Wildlife Service to compensate Wachira's family.

"Wachira has left a young family who have been left widowed and orphaned without a source of livelihood after losing a bread earner," Njogu said.

KWS has often been accused of failing to do enough to protect communities hosting wildlife sanctuaries from losses with victims decrying the slow pace of processing compensation claims.

On July 13, the government announced the payment of Sh908 million as compensation to families who members were either killed, injured or had their property destroyed by wildlife across the country.

Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Penina Malonza said the money would cover a sizable portion of the total claims made by farmers in areas prone to conflict.

"Compensation for losing a loved one has been prioritized over the years. We intend to pay a substantial part of other categories because they have been delayed for a long time," she said.