MTITO ANDEI, Makueni County — Farmers in Mikomani village and surrounding areas are assessing severe losses following a nighttime invasion by elephants that destroyed crops and property. The herd, believed to have strayed from the nearby Tsavo East National Park, devastated fields of maize, beans, and other staple crops just weeks before harvest.
The incident has intensified longstanding tensions between the community and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Residents report that repeated distress calls to KWS went unanswered for hours, allowing the elephants to move unchecked from farm to farm.
“By the time the rangers arrived, the damage was already done,” said Samuel Mwenda, a local farmer. “These crops were our only hope—for food and for selling. Now we have nothing.”
A Recurring Crisis Amid Drought
The invasion comes at a critically vulnerable time. Makueni is among 23 counties currently grappling with drought, where many areas have already experienced widespread crop failure. The elephant damage has pushed already strained households closer to hunger.
“This wasn’t just an attack on our farms; it was an attack on our survival,” explained Faith Kilonzo, a mother of four. “With the rains failing and now this, we don’t know how we will feed our families.”
Human-wildlife conflict remains a persistent and escalating challenge in communities bordering the Tsavo ecosystem. Farmers argue that delayed responses from KWS routinely turn manageable wildlife movements into full-scale agricultural disasters.
Calls for Immediate and Long-Term Solutions
The community is now demanding urgent intervention. Their demands include:
- The immediate deployment of rapid-response KWS units equipped to deter elephants before they reach farms.
- Accelerated completion of the Tsavo park perimeter fencing, particularly along remaining open sections near Mtito Andei.
- Compensation for lost crops and support for affected households, as per Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation and Management Act.
KWS officials have acknowledged the incident and stated that a team has been dispatched to assess the damage and drive the herd back into the park. They cited resource constraints and the vast area to patrol as challenges to instantaneous response.
Broader Implications
This event highlights the delicate and often conflict-ridden relationship between wildlife conservation and human livelihood in Kenya. As climate change increases the frequency of droughts, competition for resources between animals and communities is likely to intensify, underscoring the need for sustainable, proactive co-existence strategies.
For now, the farmers of Mikomani are left to count their losses—not only in shillings, but in their food security and resilience during an already unforgiving season.
