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Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has offered Sh9.8 million for compensation to victims of wildlife attacks in Tana River County.

Area KWS County Warden Aisha Chunaa told a press conference that her office received about Sh9.08 million in payments as compensation to 315 claimants who were injured by wild animals in the region.

The Warden said some relatives of the deceased victims had already received the first tranche of compensation, which was paid in two tranches, especially those whose kin lost their lives as a result of the attack.

Paying victims

She also expressed challenges while paying the victims who are getting their cash through their bank accounts, saying that some of the victims, after cashing the first tranche, withdraw all the monies from the account, resulting in the account reading negative balance or dormant; hence, when the second tranche is posted to the account, it is returned to the sender.

She further said some of the beneficiaries cannot be reached at the telephone numbers they provided to KWS offices.

She appealed to the area assistant chiefs and chiefs to help the KWS office locate the victims in order to benefit before the money is returned to the national government.

Residents of the Koneramada area in the Saka location of Bangale Sub County have appealed for KWS intervention following the sighting of a lion in the area that threatened the lives of people and their livestock.