Four people including a Form Two student were shot by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers in Barut, Nakuru county on Saturday evening.
The incident occurred during a crackdown on alleged illegal fishing in Lake Nakuru. Two KWS rangers were injured and taken to hospital alongside the four other civilians.
The KWS officials said they had on May 25 spotted a group of men trespassing into the lake for illegal fishing prompting an operation.
They said as the patrol team was trying to chase them out of the park, another group of people threw stones attacking the officers.
This prompted the rangers to open fire at the group injuring four.
Police said the KWS vehicle the officers were using was damaged in the drama.
The incident has sparked protests with the locals demanding the arrest and prosecution of the officers who allegedly raided the area and beat up everyone in sight.
Barut borders Lake Nakuru National Park and the swelling lake has displaced many locals which has prompted a section of the residents to resort to fishing in the lake which KWS claims is illegal.
Fishing has been banned at the lake as it is deemed unsafe for human consumption.
One Beatrice Adhiambo, the mother of Barrack Obama, 15, said he was outside when the KWS officers arrived in two land cruisers.
Adhiambo claimed that she witnessed the officers shoot another boy as she was busy attending to her son.
She said that her son was not fishing and was not near the lake during the incident.
Another victim, Obed Luka,19, who spoke from his hospital bed said he was chatting with his friends outside the gate at around 6pm when he saw two land cruisers approaching.
He said they stepped back only to hear someone scream. It turned out the officers were allegedly assaulting a woman and started shooting randomly when Luka and his colleagues asked them to stop.
Alvin Williams said he had taken shelter from the rains at a neighbour’s house when the officers knocked on the door.
Damaris Huro, 62, claimed that the officers raided her home and killed a duck after they started shooting randomly.
Deputy County Commissioner Obed Mose who represented the County Commissioner said they are ready to have the officers arrested after investigations are completed.
He said an investigation had been opened into the incident.
Mose revealed that the firearms used by the officers had already been confiscated as part of the probe into the incident.
He appealed to the locals to cooperate and record statements for action to be taken against the officers.
Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Alphaxard Kemboi said that they received the four patients and that two of them will undergo surgery to remove bullets lodged in their bodies.
He noted that three patients had bullet wounds on the thighs and another in the arm.
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