Illegal herders injure officer at Kuki Gallmann ranch

Police officers patrol the Laikipia Nature Conservancy on March 30, 2017. A police officer was shot and injured in an operation to flush out illegal herders from the ranch. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A police officer is admitted to hospital in a Nyahururu hospital after he was shot by illegal herders during a security operation to flush out illegal herders from the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.

The officer was in a team of security officers who had gone to the conservancy owned by conservationist Kuki Gallmann to drive out the herders, who had defied a police deadline to leave peacefully by Tuesday.

Laikipia County Police Commander Simon Kipkeu said police officers had teamed up with Kenya Defence Forces officers to drive out the herders.

“A good number of the herders had been flushed out of the conservancy and they appeared to be moving out without much resistance. At one point, herders who were hiding in the bushes started firing and injured the office,” Mr Kipkeu told the Nation by phone.

He added that the security officers fired back and it is suspected that several of the bandits escaped with gunshot wounds. He said the officer is in stable condition.

Area residents who talked to the Nation said they heard gunshots for several hours as security officers engaged the bandits.

In April, armed illegal herders, who have been occupying the 100,000-acre ranch, shot and injured Ms Gallmann.