Baboon invasion disrupts farming, threatens safety in Kisumu village

• Citizen TV toured Osala village, where the once-promising farms now lie bare following the growing human-wildlife conflict that has left residents living in fear.
• Despite the rains offering a window for planting, residents have been forced to abandon their farms as baboons dig up freshly planted seeds.

Residents of Osala village in Kisumu West are counting their losses after a baboon invasion that has persisted for nearly three weeks.

The marauding animals have destroyed crops and increasingly turned aggressive, with residents reporting attacks on women and children.

Citizen TV toured Osala village, where the once-promising farms now lie bare following the growing human-wildlife conflict that has left residents living in fear.

Despite the rains offering a window for planting, residents have been forced to abandon their farms as baboons dig up freshly planted seeds, sometimes just hours after they go into the ground.

Over the past three weeks, the animals have grown in number and become increasingly brazen, venturing beyond farms and into residents’ homes.

“Nikipika ugali ama uji, zinanyanyua sufuria ya kupika, zinachukua, zinaenda na sufuria, sasa nimebaki hakuna hata vile nitapika,” lamented a resident, Jane Mbone.

Another, Jacob Ouko, added, “Nilinunua samaki inaitwa omena…mimi kuingia ndani ya nyumba imechukua. Kujaribu kutupia mawe ikaenda nayo.”

Efforts to contain the invasion have yielded little relief. Residents say traps set by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in neighbouring Akingli village have failed to keep the baboons at bay.

The animals are now growing increasingly aggressive, with reports of attacks on women and children, turning everyday life into a growing safety concern.

For now, residents have resorted to chasing the baboons away by hand, hoping the KWS will intervene swiftly before the invasion escalates further.