By the time the sun breaks over the hills of Akingli village in Kisumu County, Nikanor Bodo is already awake.
He does not rise early out of habit or discipline alone. Experience has taught him that dawn is when the enemy, he has spent nearly half of his life fighting, strikes.
“They know this time. When people are still asleep, that is when they attack,” he says, scanning the edges of his farm.
From a distance, Akingli village appears to be an agricultural success story waiting to happen. The soil is fertile, the rains generous, and the farms stretch wide with the promise of maize, millet, beans and sorghum.
Nikanor Bodo, also known as 'Jabimbe', during an interview with the Daily Nation at Akingli village in Kisumu County on February 3, 2026.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
However, for years the village has lived under siege from an enemy it cannot vote out, negotiate with, or easily escape: marauding troops of baboons and monkeys that descend on farms and homes, leaving ruin in their wake.
At the centre of this unending battle stands one man - by choice, by circumstance and now by reputation. His name is Nikanor Bodo. But across Kisumu North, he is known simply as Jabimbe - the baboon man.
“I did not choose the name. The people of Akingli gave me that name. They saw what I was doing and they called me Jabimbe. I accepted it, because it tells the truth,” he says.
Mr Bodo is 46 years old, born and raised in Akingli village, where his family has lived for generations.
“Our grandfathers have lived here since time immemorial. This land is not an encroachment or an afterthought. It is home,” he says.
However, this is contrary to what government officials have often told residents: that they settled on baboon habitat.
Farming has always been the village’s economic lifeline. With sufficient rain and effort, Akingli should be self-sufficient. Instead, it remains trapped in a cycle of planting and loss.
“We plant, we wait and then the baboons come. Nothing reaches maturity,” Mr Bodo explains.
He attended Akingli Primary School, Migosi Primary School and later Kisumu Boys High School. After completing his studies, he trained as a driver and obtained his licence in 2002. But like his late father, Zadock Bodo, farming remained central to his life.
“My father educated me using farm proceeds. He always told me, ‘Farming sustains even the educated,’” he recalls.
In the early 2000s, as baboon numbers began to rise sharply, Mr Bodo watched his crops vanish season after season. What began as frustration slowly hardened into resolve.
Nikanor Bodo and his dogs hunt for baboons that have been destroying crops in Akingli Village, Nyahera in Kisumu County on July 11, 2021.
Photo credit: Tonny Omondi | Nation Media Group
“At first, everyone complained. But complaining does not chase a baboon,” he says.
He began volunteering to confront the animals - first alone, then alongside neighbours. Over time, as others grew weary or fearful, the responsibility fell increasingly on him.
Today, he estimates the baboon population in the area at more than 1,000.
“They move like an army. They are not afraid. They enter farms, houses, even kitchens,” he says.
Villagers recount how baboons open doors, overturn cooking pots, and snatch food meant for children.
“If you leave a sufuria outside, it will be empty. Everything will be scattered,” Mr Bodo explains.
“There is no one in Akingli who keeps chicken anymore. The baboons ate all of them,” he adds.
Without farm income, families struggle to pay school fees. Children miss classes. Food insecurity is a constant shadow. Mr Bodo has raised six children through farming, despite the losses.
“We cannot even educate our children properly. The farm was supposed to help us,” he says.
Over the years, Mr Bodo has become a reluctant expert in baboon behaviour. He knows how they test traps, circle cages and respond to threats. Using cages provided intermittently by wildlife authorities, he has captured at least 12 baboons alive.
“A captured baboon cannot stay here for more than two days. Others come to try to free it. They are very hostile,” he explains.
When Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers fail to respond, Mr Bodo has taken steps few civilians would dare. He has personally transported captured baboons to KWS offices located within Millimani estate in Kisumu, a distance of more than 30 kilometers away from Akingli village, using his three wheeler, commonly known as Tuktuk.
“No fuel refund. No allowance. Not even a bottle of water,” he says.
In the battle he wages against the baboons, dogs have been both his most loyal allies and his greatest heartbreak.
“They scare the monkeys. But they are no match for baboons,” he says quietly.
He names the fallen dogs as family members: Jubilee, Nasa, Oyombe, Emma, Simba, Pam. Each cost at least Sh5,000. Each died after brutal encounters.
“They climb trees while the dogs wait below. When the dog relaxes, they come down and attack,” he explains.
Nikanor Bodo and his dogs hunt for baboons that have been destroying crops in Akingli Village, Nyahera in Kisumu County on July 11, 2021.
Photo credit: Tonny Omondi | Nation Media Group
Today, only a few remain: German, Simba, Nasa and Gen Z.
“The dogs have learned fear. They cannot chase the baboons into the forest,” he says.
Mr Bodo now proposes the creation of a reserved park or designated holding area where the problematic animals could be relocated and managed.
“There is a place called Abindu. If baboons can be taken there, it would help,” he says.
The struggle has become generational. His elder son, now in Form Four, helps chase baboons and has learned how to set traps.
At times, he mobilises villagers to chase baboons throughout the planting season, but few endure the long vigil.
Years of unanswered appeals have pushed him towards a new battleground, politics. Mr Bodo plans to contest the North Kisumu Ward county assembly seat in 2027.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
“Our leaders, from MCA to governor, have refused to help us. We vote, then we are abandoned,” he says.
His campaign, he insists, will be rooted in lived experience.
Reached for comment the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warned Mr Bodo and residents of Akingli against handling the animals directly, citing serious safety and health risks.
“Baboons are extremely dangerous. They can attack people and transmit serious diseases. We do not want any citizen to be harmed. As the Kenya Wildlife Service, we have set up cages to capture some of the animals,” said Grace Kariuki, a Senior Warden.
KWS further stated that it will deploy additional officers to the area to contain the escalating human–wildlife conflict.
