On the morning of September 30 in Musanze District, Kinigi Sector, 14-year-old Phocas Manizabayo was attacked and badly wounded on his thigh by a buffalo. Early in the morning at around 6:00 am, the young man left home to go buy soap but before he could get there, he met a herd of buffaloes that were headed back to the park. According to the Executive Secretary of Kinigi Sector, Fred Agire Rudasingwa, Manizabayo met the group of about 50 buffaloes and one of them attacked him from behind, with its horn. He was left nursing injuries where he is being treated in Ruhengeri Referral Hospital. Rudasingwa, told The New Times that this is not the first time a stray animal from the park has attacked a resident. “The buffaloes often leave the park, usually in the night. They not only attack people, but also eat and destroy people’s crops. We are lucky it did not kill the young man,” he said. He further explained that when such cases arise, the Special Guarantee Fund (SGF) is notified in good time which then compensates the victim. “In cases of emergency like Manizabayo’s, we give them their first installment to help them cater for immediate needs when the patient is in hospital” “We have what we call a ‘financial commitment’, where we pay for all the medical needs the patient may need. After, we compensate them accordingly”, explained Joseph Nzabonikuza, the Director General of SGF. According to information from the fund, in the just-concluded fiscal year (2018-19), the fund settled 2,995 claims of park animal damages to a tune of Rwf247m while since the current fiscal year started in July, 636 claims have been settled with damages paid worth over Rwf31.9m Nzabonikuza explains that the figures are a combination of all animal damages; accidents and crop damages from among others. The Head of Marketing and Communication at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Sunny Ntayombya told The New Times that they continue to put efforts in preventing the animals to leave their habitat to stray into communities. “In terms of what RDB does to reduce these kinds of encounters, we have taken a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, RDB put in place two physical barriers to keep the animals in the park, namely a 74km stone wall, that is between 150 cm and 200 cm, as well as a ditch 50 cm deep and one meter wide.” He also talked about the long-term plan, which is the park expansion that will limit the human-wildlife interaction because there will be more habitat for the animals in the park. Mass sensitisation on how to mitigate negative encounters with wild animals is constantly done, by RDB and the local governance. Citizens are also discouraged to walk around the animal territory, or late at night. Manizabayo’s case comes after another one in Nyagatare district, where a 13-year old was attacked and badly wounded by a baboon. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
