Juja: Police finally collect body of woman mauled by hyenas after standoff with residents

Police in Juja, Kiambu County have finally managed to collect the body of a middle-aged woman who was mauled to death by hyenas at Nyacaba village.

The unidentified woman was headed to work at a coffee plantation in Kabati village when the wild animals attacked her.

There was a heated exchange between police and furious residents who had blocked police from collecting the body over claims that the government had been doing nothing to protect the locals.

The residents, in their hundreds, had fingered the government for abandoning them at a time when the hyenas had been terrorizing them.

However, after much consultation, police have finally managed to collect the lifeless body which has been taken to General Kago mortuary in Thika.

Using diplomacy, Juja Sub-County police commander Phyllis Muthoni calmed the agitated crowd that had vowed to restrain the sleuths from collecting the body until their grievances were fully addressed.

Muthoni negotiated with the residents and convinced them to allow her officers to collect the body before further action.

Later Muthoni and her officers, area MCA Mwibiri Ngugi and Kiambu County majority leader Godfrey Mucheke joined the angry locals in the bushes to hunt down the wild animals that have claimed two lives in two weeks.

A week ago, a nine-year-old boy was attacked by the hyenas after they waylaid him as he was going home from church for brigade training sessions.

Mucheke and Mwibiri told journalists that the owners of the bushes, alongside the abandoned quarries, will be summoned at the county assembly next week.

The two stated that the landowners would be compelled to bury the quarries and clear the bushes which are believed to be the hyenas’ dens.

“We will summon the owners of these quarries next week for action. We cannot continue dealing with a single problem for years when the solution is just clearing the bushes and burying the quarries. This must be the last person to be attacked by the hyenas,” Mwibiri stated.

On his part, Mucheke called for the establishment of a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) camp in the area to hunt down the animals and protect the people from further attacks.

“We will be calling for the establishment of a KWS camp here which will not just be a camp but one that will see the officers deal with the animals that have been terrorizing our people. The quarry owners will also be summoned to tell us how and what they intend to do with the undeveloped land which locals feel is their biggest problem,” Mucheke said.