A police officer was shot dead during a fierce exchange of gunfire between security officers and suspected cattle rustlers in Trans Mara South Sub-county, Narok County.
The incident happened on June 19 Friday afternoon, police said.
The officer, identified as Administration Police Constable Joseph Owino, was fatally wounded during an operation to recover cattle stolen from the Kuria community in neighbouring Migori County.
According to police officers from Angata Barrikoi Police Station and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) camp at Angata were on patrol at about 4 p.m. when they received information that cattle had been stolen from Gwitembe area in Migori County.
The security team pursued the suspected rustlers and caught up with them at Keturo area, where they encountered about 40 armed youths.
Police said the officers were ambushed upon arrival, triggering an exchange of gunfire that lasted for about an hour.
During the confrontation, Owino sustained fatal injuries.
His body was later moved to Kilgoris Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.
Four fragmentation grenades (FRGs) were also deployed during the operation.
The incident follows a cattle raid reported earlier on Friday in Gwitembe, Migori County, where armed rustlers stole 20 head of cattle before fleeing toward Trans Mara South.
Police said security operations have been intensified in the area as officers continue pursuing the attackers and efforts to recover the stolen livestock continue. Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Trans Mara South are investigating the incident.
A herder sustained a minor injury to his left leg while fleeing from the attackers. He was rushed to Ntimaru Sub-County Hospital, where he was treated and discharged in stable condition.
Police said efforts to trace the suspects, recover the stolen cattle and arrest those behind the raid are ongoing.
The area is among those under an operation to tame rustling menace.
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