By Flavia Ajok
A 53-year-old woman has died after being attacked by a stray elephant in Buliisa district. The deceased has been identified as Eunice Kutegeka, a resident of Kigoya village in Kigoya sub-county. The incident happened on Sunday afternoon.
It is alleged that the deceased went to collect firewood in the nearby bush when she was attacked by the stray elephant that is suspected to have escaped from the Bugungu wildlife conservation area. Residents waited for her to return home in vain.
They mounted a search and found her lifeless body lying in a pool of blood with multiple injuries on her head, face and stomach.
Mary Katusiime, the deceased’s daughter told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that, after waiting for her mother to return home in vain, they mounted a search for her and discovered her body in a nearby bush.
She says, that before her mother’s death; some elephants had strayed into the community but were later chased away.
Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA could not be reached for comment by press time.
Attacks by stray elephants on human beings in Buliisa are common.
In June 2023, a stray elephant attacked and killed Janet Beropamungu 42, a resident of Waiga village, Bugana parish in Buliisa district.
Beropamungu had gone to collect firewood from a nearby bush when she was attacked and killed by a stray elephant.
In July 2024, farmers neighbouring Murchison Falls National Park in Buliisa stormed the sub-county headquarters protesting against elephant and Buffalo crop raids.
They demanded that the Uganda Wildlife Authority compensate them for crops destroyed, lives lost, and injuries inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.
In August 2022, residents of Buliisa near Murchison National Park petitioned the Uganda Wildlife Authority -UWA over the rampant invasion of elephants and Buffaloes into the community causing massive destruction to their garden crops.
In their petition addressed to UWA then, the residents noted that they are being raided by wild animals like elephants and Buffaloes, which destroy their crops and cause injuries to the community members.
The residents in the petition wanted UWA to compensate them for crops destroyed and injuries inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.
The aggrieved residents were from more than 20 villages neighbouring Murchison Falls National Park, especially from the sub-counties of Butiaba, Buliisa Ngwedu, Biiso, and Buliisa town council, which all share a common border with the park.
The residents then explained in the petition that several hectares of cassava, maize, beans, sweet potatoes, jack fruits, pawpaws, and bananas were destroyed by wild animals over the years yet no intervention was being undertaken by UWA.
The more than 1,000 residents who signed the petition also demanded that UWA erect an electric fence around Murchison Falls National Park to prevent further invasion of the animals into the community.
In 2018, the government through UWA said it would erect an electric fence around all national parks across the country and the program was meant to start in the financial year 2019/2020.
