Panic as hippos kill 12 locals in three months

Residents of Bussi Island in Lake Victoria, Wakiso  District are living in fear after hippopotami  invaded  the area and killed 12  people in a space of three months.

The most affected residents are those in the areas  of Kavenjanja, Kitufu and Zinga in  Bussi  Sub-county.

According to Mr Charles Mukalazi, the sub-county chairperson, the marauding hippos have also ravaged several gardens in the area.

“The hippos also killed four cows and three pigs,” he said during an interview on Monday.

He said remains of two residents killed by the hippos were retrieved from water on April 15, 2021.

“We have information that these animals move with their new born calves and some victims have drowned in water after being chased by the hippos,” Mr Mukalazi said.

Mr Mukalazi said they have engaged Wakiso District leaders who have also promised to inform the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to send a  team to capture the animals.

In another incident on April 27, a group of hippos hit  a boat, which was carrying six people. But the occupants luckily survived after swimming towards the shore before climbing trees at the nearby Kyanjasi Zone  in Gulwe Parish.

Locals flee

Mr John Ssekiranda, a fisherman at Zinga Landing Site, said the hippos tear their fishing nets while crocodiles maul fishermen.  

“Crocodiles too hit our canoes and kill the occupants but the existing laws don’t allow us to kill those animals yet we all need to survive on the same resource (lake),” he said.

Mr Ssekiranda said residents can no longer send children alone to the lake to fetch water for fear that they will be attacked by the hippos.

“Some fishermen have been forced to flee some landing sites in fear of their dear lives,” he added. Wakiso District chairperson Matia Lwanga Bwanika, who visited the area on Monday, said: “It is very unfortunate that we have lost lives as a result of the hippos, which stray from Lake Victoria  and attack residents. The loss of lives is an indication that these animals are supposed to be relocated, and we are going to engage UWA to swiftly help our people. ” 

He, however, warned residents staying near the lake shores to be on the lookout, saying hippos tend to get closer to the shores, especially at night, to feed and nurse their new-borns.

However, UWA spokesperson Bashir Hangi said they are not aware about the deaths caused by the hippos  in Bussi, describing the incidents as regrettable.

“Our stand-by Problem Animal Capture Staff will first visit the area and sensitise the residents how to co-exist with the animals. We advise the residents not to kill the animals, if the situation becomes worse, the experts will relocate them because people’s lives come first,” Mr Hangi said.

Growing trend

For several years, stray hippos have attacked communities on Bussi Island, killing people, livestock and also destroying crops, including sweet potato, maize, ground nuts, beans, cassava and  banana plantations. This has led to food scarcity and poverty in the affected  communities.

In August 2018, seven people were killed by hippos while in their gardens. In September the same year, hippos killed one person. In the same month, two fishermen drowned in the water after their boat was hit by the hippos .

Conservationists say hippos kill more people every year than other predators such as crocodiles and lions in Africa.