The 11-year-old girl from Kanthungu Location in Thagicu Sub County who was killed by Black Mamba snake was laid to rest yesterday.
The girl, Nancy Mukami was bitten the the Africa’s most swift and venomous serpent inside her house last week as her mother battled it.
Residents responded to the cries of the mother and managed to kill the snake before rushing the decreased to Ishiara Level Four Hospital in the neighbouring Embu County but she succumbed on the way.
Leaders led by Tharaka ward Member of County Assembly Muthengi Ndagara called on the government to reinstate compensation for victims of snake-bite.
“We are asking the government through the National Assembly Environment and Tourism committee chaired by Maara Constituency Member of Parliament to ensure reinstatement of compensation for victims of snake-bite,” said Mr Ndagara.
He said the government cannot arrest and prosecute people found to have killed a snake but fail to compensate those killed or injured by the serpent.
The government scrapped compensation for victims of snake-bite back in 2019 claiming that the cases were too many and costing too much money.
By 2019, at least 60 percent of compensation for victims of human-wildlife conflict was for snake attacks and a person either injured or killed by a serpent was paid Ksh3 million.
Cases of snake attacks are very common in the arid and semi-arid areas of Tharaka-Nithi, Kitui and Embu counties and especially during rainy season.