Police are investigating an incident where a charcoal burner was shot and killed in a forest in the Loko area, Samburu County.
Joseph Long, 39, was Sunday evening shot in the head as he and
others were clearing bushes to burn charcoal.
It is not yet clear why the victim was targeted, police said.
The gunmen escaped the scene after the shooting, even as the
other colleagues scampered for their safety within the Leaduma Farm.
Locals left the scene with the body and walked with it for
kilometres to the local mortuary for preservation and further probe.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
The motive and those behind the fatal shooting were not
immediately established.
But witnesses told police the gunmen were believed to be
cattle rustlers and were 20 in number. They were looking for livestock to steal
in the area, the locals told police.
Elsewhere in Buulu, Meru County, a team of police officers
from the Anti Stock Theft Unit lost a G3 rifle in a clash with suspected
bandits in the Shaffa area.
The
team was on patrol on Sunday when they were
attacked by an unknown number of bandits, prompting a fierce exchange of fire.
According to police, in the process, a G3 rifle with 20
rounds of ammunition got stuck when its sling attachment was held back by the
co-driver’s door, prompting the officer to abandon the rifle due to imminent.
The owner of the gun rolled into a ditch as the gunmen
approached and picked it and escaped.
A reinforcement arrived at the scene and rescued the officers
who had hidden in the bushes for their safety.
A hunt for the gunmen was launched in the area in vain.
The area is among those under a special operation aimed at
addressing the cattle rustling menace.
Dozens of security personnel have been mobilised to the areas, including Samburu, Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, Meru, Laikipia, Elgeyo Marakwet,
Baringo and West Pokot, to address the menace.
The gangs behind the trend keep persisting in the attacks amid the operations. This has affected development at large in the areas.
