By Jennifer Acheng
Wild animals straying from Kidepo Valley National Game Park have reportedly attacked and killed at least three people in Alerek sub county Abim district within a space of only nine months.
Three others have also reportedly been left disabled from the attacks by wild animals since 2023, area residents have told Etoil A Karamoja.
The latest incident happened on Sunday where a 23-year-old Denis Ongok from Kawang central cell in Alerek town council, was killed by an elephant while his colleague Godfrey Okello from Lie cell, university ward Alerek town council survived with serious injuries. The incident occurred at 11pm as the two were returning from Abim town.
Luke Ojok Ongombi, an eye witness says the two boys who were travelling on a motorcycle registration number UFP 093F, knocked an elephant that was crossing the road, losing control instantly.
He says the elephant later returned and trampled on the two helpless victims several times, killing one on spot, leaving the other unconscious with injuries all over his body.
He notes that the motorcycle was also badly destroyed by the elephants. Ongombi is now calling upon UWA officials to urgently handle the issue of problem animals as well as quicken the process of compensating the victims of the attacks.
Joshua Otoka, the Alerek town council LC3 Chairperson confirmed the incident saying the two boys were Monday morning picked and taken to Abim hospital, where the injured is currently receiving treatment and the deceased taken for postmortem. He is now warning locals in the area against late night movements.
In January this year a 68-year-old Amuya Longoli from Tyen Apok village Alerek sub county was hospitalized with serious injuries after being attacked by a stray buffalo.
Early this month William Ngiro a P4 pupil of Toroi P/S in Loyoro sub county Kaabong district was killed by an elephant while his father, Zacharia Kikol, survived.
Several attempts to get a comment from the chief warden, Kidepo, Richard Muhabwe on the issue were fruitless, as he could neither pick nor return our repeated phone calls.
In January 2022, Uganda Wildlife Authority adopted a mobile application for reporting incidents of problem animals in communities surrounding the Kidepo Valley National Park.
The App an Open Data Kit; that allows data collection using Android mobile devices and data submission to an online server, even without an Internet connection was installed in smartphones that were distributed to the LCIII Chairpersons of the 17-selected sub-counties where the technology is being piloted.
Similarly, the then, Chief Warden Samuel Amanya revealed that they were also in the process of collaring all elephants in Kidepo to abate human-wildlife conflicts in over 4,200 villages in the 17 sub-counties that lie within the six districts surrounding the park.
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