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Issue 00536 |
September 20 - 26, 2008 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Front Page 3 |
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Harrowing
account A Canadian medical doctor who was the first person to attend a French boy attacked by a leopard on October 1, 2005 at the Tarangire Safari Lodge on Wednesday took two hours to narrate a harrowing account of what happened on that fateful evening. As Dr. Scott Markey told the High Court presided by Judge Kakusulo Sambo that he tried to resuscitate the dying boy after the leopard attack but it was too late, the mother of the kid Mrs Cecile Pereira broke into tears. Other relatives were visibly also overwhelmed with emotion. Dr. Markey had
been to the lodge since September 30, 2005, a day before the French
couple, Mr. Pereira and his wife and their son Adrien went there. He told the High Court, which was hearing the case for the second day running, that he was at the barbecue area on the fateful evening, shortly before the animal pounced on the child. Incidentally, some of visitors are said to have expressed disappointment for not having some landmark animals such as the leopard during their game drive within the Tarangire National Park. However, the private medical practitioner claimed he overheard a lodge waitress called Mary telling the guests not to worry because there was a leopard which frequented the area. Later on Dr. Markey and a group of 15 to 20 guests were taken to the verandah of the lodge where, with the aid of spotlights, they saw a leopard lying on the wall fence. He said the path leading to some of the sleeping tents from the main lounge and barbecue area was where the leopard was spotted. "I remember feeling unsafe standing there. In a few minutes I went inside the dining hall" he said, adding that other people stood outside looking at the animal. The Canadian, who is prosecution witness number three, also claimed there were no warning signs to guests on the dangers posed by wild animals such as a leopard. He said he had seen elephants, hours before, drinking water from the swimming pool. He added that some 10 to 15 minutes after he went to the dining hall he heard a loud scream and a lot of panic, especially from the barbecue workers who were much upset. "Within two minutes it became clear that a child has been snatched by the leopard. Nobody took the control of the situation on what to do and not to do," he stated. On Tuesday another prosecution witness, Mpinga Mathew told the court that the killer leopard frequented the lodge during barbecue dinners to feed on leftovers. The boy’s father Adelino Pereira is suing Sinyati Lmited /t/a Tarangire Safari Lodge and according to the plaint the Lodge was “ solely responsible in negligence” for the death of Adrien, a former pupil of Braeburn School in Arusha. He added that thanks to two safari vehicles that were around, a rescue operation was underway within minutes and the vehicles with their head lights on pursued the body in the direction the animal went. Within 15 minutes one of the vehicles drove back to the lodge with the distraught Mr. Pereira carrying the motionless body of his boy in his hands. "Being a doctor, I intervened. I tried to assess the boy's injuries. His neck was broken. There were also teeth marks in front of his neck. I tried to resunscate him" he said. "I tried to compress his body. His pause was very slow as were his heatrt beats. he was no longer breathing. There were only 10 heart beats per minute instead of the normal 80 to 90 beats" he explained. The boy was rushed to a nearby dispensary where he was pronounced dead. "There was nothing we could do. We rushed back to inform his already devastated mother" Dr. Markey said. The Canadian medical expert, who had travelled all the way from Vancouver, as a witness also confirmed that there were not armed security personnel at the lodge at the time of attack. Another witness, Ms Joceline Mulera, a French woman working in Arusha, told the Court that she knew the killed boy Adrien because they were together with his children before the incident. She said as family friends with the Pereiras, they went to dinner together in the evening of the fateful night while their children were playing around inside and outside the dinner hall. She added that while they were still having meals and drinks, his son Basil and Adrien - who were age mates - went into a lodge hut she had been booked to collect toys. Mrs. Mulera added that after a loud scream was made, she rushed outside and within minutes she heard people saying in Kiswahili; "chui amemchukua mtoto' ( a leopard has snatched a kid). She panicked and started looking for his two kids. In the ensuring confusion she saw her son Basil running towards the dining hall alone. His younger brother Colin was inside the hut. It was later realised that Adrien, who went swimming with her children, was missing. Adrien's young brother Clement, then aged about three, was found safe later. The hearing continued on Thursday with the testimony by the fifth prosecution witness. The plaintiff is represented by an Arusha advocate Method Kimomogora. Mr. Hubert Makange is representing Inyati Limited which trades as Tarangire Safari Lodge. Mr. Pereira claimed that his son was killed by the animal because of negligence of the lodge management to guests' seucrity. On Tuesday, Mr. Mpinga Mathew, who during the incident was a laundry attendant at the lodge, said the leopard frequented the facility every Wednesday and Saturday during barbecue dinners. Mr. Pereira has filed the case against Tarangire Safari Lodge and its employees for being negligent leading to the killing of his son by the animal on October 1, 2005. Mr. Mathew told the first hearing of the case that lasted for four hours that no effort had been made to chase away the animal or seek the advice of the wildlife experts. There are reports that one hour before the leopard snatched Adrian who was playing with other children after dinner, the former laundry worker's son son was also attacked by the carnivore within the lodge premises. Mr. Pereira insists Sinyati Limited/Tarangire Safari Lodge was "solely responsible in negligence" for the death of Adrien, a fomer pupil of Braeburn school in Arusha. The French couple are demanding "a modest" compensation from Tarangire Safari Lodge mainly to cover for the travel costs of the witnesses and funeral expenses. He is also demanding that the lodge operator erect a commemorative plaque and plant a tree at the spot where Adrien was snatched by the beast. The case, was first mentioned on August 14, 2006. Its second and third mentions were on March 1 and 8th this year. Hearing ended on Thursday.
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