Residents told the Star this morning via phone call that the boy was in the company of his mates swimming at the shore of the lake before the 6pm incident.
“We were in Kampi ya Samaki town then we heard the boys screaming for help, we rushed there trying to rescue” Louise Juma said.
Juma said unfortunately they only found the bleeding boy’s right hand dropped outside the lake while the hippo submerged inside the water with the entire body.
He said a whole hour rescue mission to around 7pm did not bear any fruit owing to darkness and even attempt by security officers to shoot the ‘killer’ hippo was futile as the beast disappeared deeper into the lake.
“His age mates narrated the ordeal saying they were busy swimming when the hippo jumped on him (victim) grasping his left leg then he shouted once for help, but they were just children so they couldn’t manage” a resident Dennis Kiptoo said
Kiptoo said unfortunately there was no elder person around the scene at the time to scare away the animal “maybe a simple stone-throw on it could have made it release the boy” he said.
Baringo County Senior Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warden Dickson Tonui regretted the incident saying the search is ongoing to recover the body.
“Our worry is only crocodiles which may have sensed blood and may feast on the body otherwise hippos only bite to kill but cannot eat humans” Tonui said.
He said his officers are already camping in the area to help the residents in search of the missing body.
The KWS boss however, cautioned the residents to keep off the secluded places of the lake noting the areas could be risk as they are a times being used by the marine creatures like crocodiles and hippos to lay their eggs and perch their young ones. Ends
-Joseph Kangogo