Residents of Ragana in Migori County have raised alarm over the scavenging of hyenas on poorly disposed bodies at Lichota cemetery.
The residents also claim they have been forced to live with the stench from the decomposing bodies.
“At night and each time the night falls in the village, the sound of howling hyenas fighting over dead bodies scares us from leaving our houses,” Emma Ombura, Kiterere village elder told K24 Digital.
When members of the press visited the cemetery a human bone in appearance of a shoulder strewn clean of flesh met the team. Nearby was a crashed bone.
About ten fresh graves were in the process of being completely unearthed by the hyenas as bones, flesh, blankets and body bags were strewn across the site.
The village elder added that it is scary as the hyenas howling at night while fighting over bodies is very disturbing.
She said that villagers who venture into the site to grave or playing kids have horror stories to tell.
Pastor Reuben Choga, a villager said the hyenas only started terrorizing them weeks ago after they begun attacking their sheep.
Hudson Saisi, a villager said they are afraid the hyenas will begin attacking them after feeding on the corpse.
In October 2017 residents also complained of trauma and risk of contracting diseases as dogs exhume bodies from poor filled graves at the same public cemetery.
“The cemetery has been neglected without maintenance or any proper development on how to dispose off bodies and even how to get burial permits, despite calls to rectify the claims,” Says said.
When contacted for comment, Migori County Environmental Executive Rebbeca Maroa said because of Covid 19 restrictions she was working from home and the issue was not in her comment and directed it to be handled by her health counterpart Kephas Nyamita.
Nyamita said the county does not recognise the site which was inherited from council and they have never buried a body there.
But the site is only separated by a fence from where county government has launched a multi-million headquarters project.
