Thika residents threaten to kill monkeys
Residents of dry Thika East in Kiambu County have vowed to kill hungry monkeys invading their homes and farms to destroy crops.
The vervet monkeys have been destroying all types of crops among them maize, beans, lemons, avocados, passion fruits among others leaving residents of Komo, Gatuanyaga and Ngoliba villages worried.
For the last three weeks, residents said that the monkeys have been attacking their farms in dozens in search of food.
It is believed the monkeys crossed from Murang’a County through river Chania and have now left a trail of destruction on farms in the area that experiences low rainfall.
Troublingly, the animals have now started to sneak to the residents’ homes in the area to steal ready food with some residents forced to chase the animals.
The residents, most of who are small-scale farmers lamented having incurred huge losses from the massive destruction executed by the monkeys.
“Our other activities have stopped and what we do nowadays is to chase the shameless animals. They have left our gardens drained of food and we expect to harvest nothing. Soon, we will start requesting for relief aid from the government,” Miriam Wambui, a farmer said.
A section of farmers has erected scarecrows in their gardens to keep off the primates, but this too has not worked.
Frustrated, the residents led by Mary Mathai have resorted to hunting down or poisoning the wild animals.
They now want prompt interventions done by the relevant government agencies before they hit the ground and start killing the animals.
“It’s either something to be done or we do it ourselves. We cannot continue playing games with these animals that only come to harvest where they never sow. We are tired,” said Mathai.
