The body found lifeless on the banks of the river Sabaki, a few kilometers from Malindi. certainly belongs to an Italian citizen
He is Renato Bettini, a 65 year old pensioner from Milan.
The Italian tourist was found yesterday, Sunday, February 17, according to testimonies collected by Malindikenya.net, in the area of the mouth of the river with injuries from aggression by hippopotamus.
Bettini had been missing from his home for a couple of days, according to the neighbours of a residential complex in the centre of Malindi, and he was a great jogger.
The man used to run from the beach of the town to the mouth of the river, and in fact he was found wearing only shorts and sneakers and with deep wounds to his chest.
He is likely to have been attacked last Friday or Saturday during the race on the banks of the river but may also have had an illness and been attacked later.
"He was a shy pensioner but always smiling - says a neighbour who was also Italian - even when he didn't go running to the beach, he walked fast and rarely stopped for a chat. He walked everywhere.
Like many pensioners, Bettini spent a few months of the winter in Kenya.
The mouth of the river Sabaki is six kilometers from Malindi and is easily accessible by beach with a nice walk, but it is not worth walking along its course because of the presence of hippos that tourists do not perceive as a danger to humans and instead, for their aggressiveness and surprising speed, are the most brutal animals in Africa.