A family in Uyoma, Rarieda sub-county is grieving the loss of their kin who was allegedly shot by a Kenya Wildlife Service Officer yesterday.

The deceased, identified as Evans Okoth 30, met his untimely death while hunting in Naya Hills.

According to his colleagues who were hunting together with him, they were on their routine pursuit of the wild animals when they spotted three KWS officers.

“We were several of us on our routine hunting mission at Naya hills when we spotted three KWS officers approaching. They saw us and began shooting in the air to scare us away,” said Mr Fredrick Ochieng who was with the deceased.

HE went on, “They shot three times in the air and we scampered for safety. We went in different directions in order to get away from the officers.”

After shooting three times in the air, the hunters then came together when the guns went silent. It was then that they discovered one of them was lifeless.

“The officers went away and we came together again. It was at that time when we realized that one of us was shot and had died,” he explained.

The KWS officers then confiscated some motorbikes that they found at the base of Naya Hills.

“They took away some of our motorbikes when the majority of us scampered for safety in the thickets” he added.

One of his family members Mr Samuel Odida said that kin was shot from the back at the shoulder and the bullet penetrated through to his chest killing him instantly.

“The bullet wound is in the shoulder, a clear indication that it might have penetrated into the chest leading to instant death. We shall establish the actual cause of death after the post mortem,” said Mr Odida. 

The deceased’s body was later removed by the police and taken to Madiany sub-county hospital mortuary to wait for a postmortem as investigations begin into the matter.