Four people have been killed and seven others severely injured after military officers opened fire on protesters in Masimba, Kajiado County, on June 2, 2022.

According to reports by the media, the protesters had taken to the streets to seek intervention on wildlife intrusion into their farms.

One woman, a teacher, had been killed by an elephant in her farm a few days ago, prompting the angry residents to see if stage a protest.

During the match, the protestors blocked part of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. General Service Unit (GSU) officers who were using the road stopped to remove the stone barricade during which time a altercation ensued.

Witnesses said the GSU officer sprayed the crowd with live bullets, instantly killings three.
The fourth person died while undergoing treatment at Makindu Hospital in Makueni.

Masimba OCS Philip Chepkwony told journalists that among the people injured, one was in a critical condition as she sustained a gunshot wound in the head near the eye.

“Four other victims were shot in the stomach while two were shot in the legs,” he said.

Chepkwony further said that the demonstration by the women was peaceful until other members of the public joined in and started pelting stones at the GSU officers.

Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku condemned the incident calling on police to desist from using excessive force on residents while maintaining public order.

“These deaths could have been avoided with a little more understanding that the local communities are getting frustrated by the loss of human lives to wildlife,” he said in a statement.

Ole Lenku also urged the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers keep their animals away from people to avoid losses which he said the residents have witnessed recently.

In the remarks largely silent on calls to action that would help to serve justice to the victims and address the situation, the governor asked the “local communities to keep calm as we probe this matter and seek a way forward with both the police and KWS”.

Missing Voices calls for speedy investigations into the incident to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted and justice served.