Peter Gitonga Kimani, a farmer from the Kona Mbaya area, said all 156 pigs on his farm died within just 72 hours after the disease struck on June 24, 2026.
According to Gitonga, the outbreak began on June 24, with the animals dying at an unusually rapid rate.
“I had 156 pigs in total. And during this day on 24th June 2026, my farm was hit by African swine, and I lost entirely the whole stock that I had,” he said.
The farmer said 109 pigs had died by around 7pm on the first day, leaving only 47 animals.
By the following morning, the number had dropped dramatically, with only six pigs still alive.
By the night of June 25, Gitonga said, all the remaining animals had died.
The farmer estimated that he lost between KSh2 million and KSh3 million, saying he had been preparing to sell a significant number of the pigs before the outbreak struck.
“My total loss here on the farm is about Sh2 to 3 million because actually I was almost able to release a big number of the baconers I had in one week’s time,” Gitonga explained.
The losses have also affected his family, with the farmer saying pig farming was their main source of income and livelihood.
He appealed to the government to intervene and support farmers whose livestock and businesses have been destroyed by the disease.
African swine flu is a highly contagious viral disease that affects pigs and can result in extremely high mortality among infected animals.
The outbreak has reportedly spread to other farms, with about 1,500 pigs said to have died across more than 20 farms in Kiambu County since May 2026.
The Department of Veterinary Services has since increased surveillance and response efforts in counties where cases have been reported, including Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kakamega, Busia, Homa Bay and Migori.
Gitonga is now calling for government assistance to help affected farmers recover from the devastating losses and protect remaining livestock from further spread of the disease.
The situation has also renewed memories of previous influenza outbreaks in Kenya.
In 2022, health officials in Nakuru reported 143 human cases of seasonal influenza A (H1N1).
However, authorities clarified that the strain detected in humans was different from the virus responsible for influenza affecting pigs.
Nakuru County Acting Chief Officer for Public Health Services Daniel Wainaina explained at the time that the variant detected among humans was not the strain responsible for the animal disease.
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