A cloud of gloom engulfed Ekatera Tea Company’s Cheymen Tea Estate after marauding elephants trampled to death a woman.
The woman, a casual tea picker at the estate, was on her way to work in the morning when she accidentally pumped into the four elephants, according to a member of the provincial administration who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He claimed that the elephants had strayed from the Mau forest and were invading neighboring farms and homesteads.
According to the administrator, the woman attempted to flee the animals, but they caught up with her as she tried to hide inside the tea bushes, trampled on her, and killed her on the spot.
The incident occurred only three weeks after another woman was killed by elephants in the Sambret area, a few kilometers away.
Kenya Wildlife Service and police officers who responded to residents’ distress calls had to use force to collect the body after irate residents resisted, claiming that they had reported the problem but the KWS officers had failed to act.
Later, the body was removed and moved to Kericho referral hospital.
KWS officers urged residents, particularly those who live near the forest, to be vigilant and avoid any confrontations with animals that stray outside the forest in search of food due to the ongoing drought.
