How a 50-year-old woman is coping years after brutal hyena attack

The night incident also left the woman without both hands.

The attack took place as she was trying to chase away a hyena that had entered a livestock shed that had cattle and goats.

Speaking to The Citizen during an exclusive interview, Ms Kapande said the incident occurred at 2am when the mother-of-nine was alone in the house.

Narrating the ordeal, woman, who has divorced her husband, said she heard unusual noises in the livestock shed and decided to go outside to establish what was going on.

“I discovered that a hyena had entered the livestock shed. I decided to stand firm and chase the wild animal away from my livestock,” she says.

“During the process, the hyena turned on me. It attacked me on different parts of my body. It wounded my skull, head and face, leaving me with serious injuries, including completely gouging out my right eye,” she adds.

She says after the deadly attack, the wild animal returned to the livestock shed where it attacked several cattle and goats before disappearing.

Furthermore, she says, neighbours responded to her screams during the attack, noting that she was taken to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Hospital in Karatu.

According to her, she was referred to Arusha’s Mount Meru Hospital and later to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) for specialised treatment.

Thanking the KCMC medics for the treatment that healed her wounds, Mr Kapande says she now left scars on her right side in addition to having lost an eye and both hands.

“This has completely changed my life because I cannot engage in any income generation activity. The incident has left me with disability and I depend on the support from Good Samaritans,” she laments.

“I’m now fed like an infant. I’m helped to dress and completely depend on assistance for my life to move on,” she adds, thanking the government for supporting her treatment that rescued her life.

Ms Kapande says she is now living in fear in the same area with endless invasions of wild animals.

She asked government support that would enable her to shift to safe areas as it has been doing to other people residing at NCA.

“I submitted this request even before the implementation of the government’s exercise, but nothing has happened to me. Therefore, the government should turn its eyes on me and relocate me to a safe area,” she says.

“The relocation will restore my happiness as it will assure my safety and free me from memories of the 2018 attack that has been repeatedly occurring in my head,” she adds.

She sought government’s support in meeting daily life demands, noting disability has denied her the capability to engage in income generation activities.

“I’m among the people who visited Msomera where most of the residents living at NCA were relocated. That is a place with the decent life that I’m now dreaming of because I will live a safe life there,” she said.

“The government should fast-track the relocation process to Msomera for the remaining people including myself because it is dangerous to continue living with wild animals here,” she adds.

A neighbour present during the attack, Mr Petro Kashuu, said people live difficult lives in the area due to threats from wild animals.

“There is a large population of hyenas in this area. When coupled with other wild beasts, the life of people has been put into a serious challenge. Life is very dangerous here, despite the fact that we are used to living with the wildlife,” he says.

NCAA Deputy Conservation Commissioner Elibariki Bajuta says after the woman attack in 2018, the government did everything in its capacity to rescue her life by providing her with specialised treatment.

“NCAA is aware of the incident. Through a team of wardens and rescuers, we cooperated with neighbours in ensuring that she receives appropriate and specialised healthcare services,” he says.

He says incidents of wild animals attack at the NCAA have been on the increase, noting that leopards, hyena, lions and elephants are the most popular for the said occurrences.

“NCAA continues to educate citizens on the importance of taking precautionary measures against wild animals because it is difficult to get used to wild animals,” he says.

Mr Bajuta says it is encouraging that the victim has voluntarily decided to relocate from the area, noting that the eviction program aims at strengthening the safety of people residing in the public conserved areas.