By Talarus Chesang
A family in Baringo has lost hope of finding the body of their 13 year old daughter who was attacked, killed and eaten by a crocodile in the flooded Lake Baringo.
Cherop Samut, a grade three pupil at Katuwit primary school was with two of her friends washing clothes and bathing at the shores of the lake when the incident happened on August 9.
“After the three weeks search, the school and the family seem to have completely lost hope of finding the body of the girl” said John Lokol, a resident.
Lokol said thorny bushes and dangerous hippos have frustrated efforts to recover the body of the girl adding that the entire place is covered with overgrown thorny Prosopis Juliflora (mathenge weed) therefore blocking free movement of the engine boat.
“The lake section is also inhabited with grouping of numerous deadly hungry crocodiles and hippos, hence scaring the rescue team” he said.
Rescue teams from Kenya Wildlife Service, Ruko conservancy and World Vision also helped in the search for the missing girl’s body.
KWS Baringo warden Peter Lekeren said the killer crocodile is already scared of crowds and loud voices of people shouting so it cannot resurface easily.
“We tried our best but there are no signs of the body so far” Lekeren said.
During the incident, the two young girls who accompanied the deceased to the lake had tried to pull her legs but the energetic crocodile overpowered them.
Katuwit primary school head teacher Samuel Korir said the girl together with her colleagues had left school for home around 1pm and later went to do some cleaning at the lake before the camouflaging beast suddenly emerged, jumped on the girl, attacked and pulled deep inside the lake.
He described the girl as disciplined, jovial, clean and hardworking.
He said that lack of community boat delayed the recovery of the body, saying they had to take time to go borrow and transport an engine boat from Kampi ya Samaki- about 15kilometres away.
In 2014, a secondary school student was killed by a crocodile in the same spot and in 2017, a 45 year old man, Joseph Arekwen was attacked by a crocodile while bathing.
Last month a fisherman Douglas Keitany, 42, was attacked at the shores of the flooded lake near Sintaan village, Baringo South Sub-county. Only a small piece of his leg was found after a through three days search operation.
The locals, who are now living in fear, are appealing to the government to supply water to the community and public institutions so that they don’t go to the lake to fetch water.
