A late-night ride turned tragic for 28-year-old boda boda operator Emmanuel Ekeno after a giraffe knocked him off his motorcycle on June 6 along a rural stretch of road near Kasarani, Naivasha North constituency.
He died on the spot, becoming the first local fatality linked to a giraffe even as residents grapple with a string of earlier hippo and buffalo assaults. Emmanuel was seemingly kicked multiple times, including ramming him against the tarmac.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) dispatched rangers to restrain the giraffe so police could collect Emmanuel’s body, but neighbours say help came too late.
“Tulijua ni huyo mnyama alikuwa amemaliza; ilitusumbua sana kwa barabara,” recalled neighbour John, describing the tense moments before officers arrived.
Locals insist the same giraffe had injured another rider hours earlier.
Emmanuel’s death has amplified long-standing fears in the farming villages fringing Kedong and Lake Naivasha wildlife corridors. Residents list at least ten animal attacks since 2017: hippos maiming fishermen, buffaloes charging farmhands, and now a giraffe roaming close to homesteads.
“Sisi bado mnatuambia, ‘fomu ijatoka Nairobi, tutawapigia simu.’ Hii simu mtatupigia lini?” asked Romano, who has waited eight years for compensation after a hippo severed his limbs in nearby wetlands.
A Compensation System in the Spotlight
Under Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, families of fatal attack victims are entitled to up to Sh 5 million, while those injured can claim medical and disability payouts. Yet
Treasury shortfalls and a manual verification process have produced a nationwide backlog of Sh 4.16 billion in unpaid claims as of February 2025, according to the Tourism and Wildlife Ministry.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano says Sh 2.8 billion has been cleared in the past two years, but another Sh 1.36 billion remains pending.
KWS recently outlined fresh guidelines on filing claims, urging victims to submit incident forms within 30 days and follow up with county wildlife offices. Even so, Naivasha residents complain that forms rarely reach them and phone calls go unanswered.
Residents want KWS to erect warning signage, deploy more rangers at night, and fast-track boundary fencing around nearby ranches.
For Emmanuel’s relatives, the priority is closure. They have filed a death-compensation claim and hope it will not languish for years like Romano’s.
Until then, riders still ply the narrow road under the gaze of roaming giraffes, hippos, and buffaloes – hoping to go back home to their families.
