Franklin Murimi made headlines last week after finding what he thought was a lion hiding in the bushes only for it to turn out to be an image on a shopping bag.
In an interview with Irene Karamuta Masaki, Murimi revealed that he had come out to sharpen his blades as usual when he bent over and saw what looked like the head of a lion.
He adds that he immediately got scared and ran off at first, after which he informed other neighbours who came out.
“Some were wondering why it wasn’t moving while others came with spears to attack it,” he remembered.
When they all seemed to agree that it was indeed a lion, they reached out to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) office in Igoji West South Imenti.
Murimi notes that when KWS officers reached the location, they all kept their distance fearing that it would charge at them because it looked like a huge animal.
In an interesting twist of events, they were informed not long after that the supposed lion that everyone was running away from was not an actual animal.
“It turns out that someone had bought seedlings and had them packed in this bag and left. No one expected it,” he said with a laugh.
Free KWS tour
The hilarious scare has, however, come with good tidings as KWS offered to take the family on a
tour to Nairobi.
Mugambi says that the idea is for them to visit Masaai Mara and see real lions so that they do not
ever confuse them again.
“I am very grateful. God comes in mysterious ways. I’ve never been to Maasai Mara so this is a
blessing,” she said gratefully.
Lion on printed bag
In the early hours of Thursday morning, locals in Muritibu village, Meru county, reported seeing a lion lurking in the hedges.
The inhabitants were so terrified that they called the Kenya Wildlife Services to come to their aid.
As they waited for the authorities to arrive and save them before the lion could pounce, it became clear that the lion wasn’t real, but rather a lion-printed Carrefour carrier bag.
Teresia Igiria, a spokesperson for the KWS, confirmed to Capital News that they had been approached to carry out the operation.
