Cattle rustlers shot dead two people and seriously injured another man at Rabuor village in Suna East subcounty on Friday night.
The rustlers were armed with AK-47 rifles, pangas and other crude weapons when they attacked the home of Otieno Ong'ele and stole his three cows.
"[Ong'ele] rushed to Rabuor police post only 500 metres away to seek help from officers. Despite raising the alarm, the officers refused to turn up," said area chief Daniel Matolo.
Matolo said Ong'ele rushed back to his homestead where he was joined by two neighbours, Okumu Jalang'o and Joshua Ongo in trailing the rustlers.
The rustlers shot at them, killing Ong'ele and Jalang'o. They hacked Ongo several times using pangas before escaping.
"The spent cartridges found at the scene shows that the bullets were issued to the Kenya Defence Forces," the chief said.
The bodies were taken to Migori Level Four Hospital mortuary, while Ongo was rushed to a private hospital in Migori town.
Residents held protests over the killing and asked IG Joseph Boinnet to transfer police officers from the region for laxity.
They said the area is prone to rustling as it borders Migori and Narok counties where Luo, Kuria and Maasai communities reside.
"This police post was placed here because of cattle rustling, sadly officers brought here are a waste of time. We want them removed from the post," Jack Otieno, a resident, said.
Matolo said it always takes over an hour for police officers to respond to distress calls, which forces residents to seek help from other stations and posts.
"During the incident we had to get officers from Migori town to help trail the rustlers. These officers have repeatedly told me they cant take orders from chiefs. Residents want them out," he said.
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