Man dies following hippo attack in Embu

A man was mauled to death by a hippo at Ndunguini in Embu County.

Dennis Komu was guarding his farm on Tuesday night when he was fatally attacked by the stray wild animal.

Family members said Komu died due to excessive bleeding following the incident.

They said Komu decided to keep vigil at night to scare away the hippo which had been destroying his crops.

However, the animal took the victim by surprise and killed him near Masinga dam.

The victim's body was spotted by his brother in the morning who then reported the matter to the police.

Mbeere South Sub-County acting police boss Inviolata Lumati said her officers rushed to the scene and found the victim lying dead with an injury on his neck and removed the body to Embu Referral Hospital mortuary.

She said investigations into the death of the villager had been launched.

"We have been informed that the victim was killed by a hippo but we have launched investigations to establish the truth of the matter," said Ms Lumati.

She asked family members to be patient and wait for the completion of investigations.

Residents lamented that stray hippos from Masinga dam had been invading farms and attacking locals.

The residents said they have been living in fear and called on the Kenya Wildlife Service to tame the hippos.