Anger and fear gripped Juja on Thursday, September 4, as residents shut down the busy Thika Road to protest the rising number of fatal hyena attacks in the area.

The protests followed the horrific death of a four-year-old boy, snatched by a hyena while at a shop with his cousin on the evening of Wednesday, September 4.

The attack has shaken the community, which has seen multiple incidents of hyenas killing residents over the past few months.

The situation is now at a boiling point, as the residents accuse the government of ignoring their pleas for protection. Despite promises from senior leaders, including Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, little has been done to address the growing menace.

“They have told us they will compensate the death with Ksh300,000. But I ask, will the money return our child?” cried the boy’s grandmother amidst a gathering of tearful and angry residents.

Witnesses described the attack as swift and brutal. The boy and his cousin had been sent to a local shop in the Nyasaba area when the hyena pounced.

"The hyena came out of nowhere, grabbed the boy, and ran. By the time people gathered to help, it was too late," narrated one resident. Despite efforts to stop the attack, the child died at the scene, his body severely mauled.

Another resident, identified only as Shiru, narrowly escaped a similar fate when the same hyena approached her shop after the initial attack.

“When it left the boy, it came to my kiosk. I froze, but my child alerted me. That’s when I screamed, and the men came to help,” she recounted, still visibly shaken by the close encounter. Her child, traumatised by the ordeal, fainted on the spot.

For many in Juja, the attack is the latest in a series of failures by authorities to curb the threat posed by these wild animals.

A month earlier, Gachagua had promised swift action, pledging to send a team of wildlife officers to deal with the hyenas. He made this assurance during a public event, acknowledging the rising number of incidents in the area.

At a recent wedding ceremony in Juja, the Deputy President reiterated that abandoned quarries in the area could be contributing to the hyena problem, serving as hiding spots for the animals. "The abandoned quarry sites are a real danger.

Not only do they provide cover for the hyenas, but they also pose a security threat in other ways," Gachagua said, citing concerns about mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant waters of the quarries. He promised that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) would be deployed to relocate the hyenas.

Local MP George Koimburi, speaking during the same event, made an emotional appeal for government intervention, noting that the animals had killed several people in recent months. “The number of deaths in Juja is alarming. Just last month, a 52-year-old woman was mauled to death. We cannot afford to lose any more lives,” Koimburi warned.

Residents are growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of tangible results. "We’ve heard these promises before, but nothing changes. We are tired of losing our loved ones," stated a protester, echoing the sentiments of many who had gathered to block Thika Road.