Heroine Baringo woman saves two sons from fangs of Cobra

BY JOSEPH KANGOGO

Heroine Baringo woman narrates how she managed to save lives of her two sons from deadly fangs of a huge poisonous Cobra snake.

Incident occurred at midnight, while the young mother Winnie Kemboi, 27 was sleeping in bed with her sons, Nigel Yator, 4 and oneyear-old Ray Kiplagat inside their temporary mud-wall structure at remote Radat village in Baringo South, January 3rd 2023.

By then her husband William Yegon, a peasant farmer was far away.

Rift Valley Region

“I was asleep when my elder son, Nigel suddenly woke me up at 12am shouting and crying saying a painful thorn has pierced his leg, but I assumed thinking maybe he was dreaming” Kemboi said.

She said she switched on her mobile phone light and saw some blood stains on the boy’s right leg, but she couldn’t believe it was really a snake bite.

“I persuaded him to sleep promising to attend to it in the morning, but nine minutes later, the younger son screamed and I spotted something pulling his hand under bed” Kemboi said.

She said she pulled back her child’s hand and realized a huge snake held his hand tightly.

“Although I got so frightened and weak but I had to walk out and alert neighbors, one being a boda boda rider who offered to help rush my children and me to Marigat hospital, located 40kilomtres away” she said.

Kemboi said upon arrival at the health facility the kid vomited soon after being induced with drugs. Their bitten hand and leg were beginning to swell.

However the children were admitted and treated in the hospital for two weeks before being discharged.

Appeal

Since then the jobless parents have been in and out of hospital for wound dressing and check-ups.

“Through friends and well-wishers we have so far spend at least sh200, 000 meeting our children medical bills” Kemboi said.

She therefore appeals to gov- ernment to fast tract process to compensate them saying they have really lost a lot in terms of time and property.

“My husband and I had to cut off our farming activities like cultivating our crop farm and looking after livestock to attend to our ailing children” she said.

The poor family also wishes to get funds to improve the rickety condition of their house to avert such unnecessary human-life conflicts.

The incident is among hundreds of pending snake bite cases including deceased and injured awaiting compensation in Baringo, currently the victims were left sinking in abject poverty.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Senior County Warden David Cheruiyot said the department is aware of the cases but majority were not reported on time.

“We are appealing to residents to report to us cases immediately as they happen so we can be able to follow up” Cheruiyot said.