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Shock and grief engulfed residents of Kichooke Village in Buliisa sub-county, Buliisa district after stray elephants attacked and killed a 28-year-old woman.

The deceased, Bridget Katulinde, a resident, was attacked by stray elephants on Monday, March 25, 2024, at about 11:00 pm.

Attempt to chase marauders

Godwin Kyosaba, who was with the deceased, told our reporter that the deceased met her death when they were heading to pursue the stray elephants that were destroying their crops in the garden.

Kyosaba disclosed that while they were moving, the deceased was attacked by elephants, which left her battling with heavy wounds all over her body.

"As we were going to chase the stray elephants, Katulinde was behind us; the stray elephants trampled on her, and she was left unconscious," Kyosaba said on Tuesday.

Buliisa sub-county LC3 chairperson Kabagambe Kamanda confirmed the incident and said the deceased was pronounced dead after being rushed to Buliisa Hospital.

Appeal to the Government

The chairperson, however, implored the Government to speed up the fencing off Murchison Falls National Park, where wild animals stray to human settlements, resulting in human-wildlife conflict that leaves people dead and their property and crops destroyed.

This is the second human death caused by the incursion of elephants in the Buliisa sub-county since this year commenced.

Efforts to get a comment from the Uganda Wildlife Authority by the time of publication were futile. 

In February this year, the decomposing body of a herdsman, Benon Mpairwe, was recovered after an elephant attacked and killed him at Waiga Village in Buliisa sub-county.

Cases of human-wildlife conflicts are on the rise in the oil-rich Buliisa district, as some go unreported.