Two Poachers Killed In Lake Nakuru Park

The duo was cornered by KWS rangers at 10.30PM while allegedly targeting a rhino.

The KWS officers were on patrol in the park when the incident happened.

Nakuru County Commissioner Mohammed Birik commended the work of the rangers in their fight against poaching adding that the “Linda Kifaru Initiative’ that was launched last year has succeed in curbing poaching.

The two poachers were found in possession of a Marc IV Rifle with five rounds of ammunition, a knife, an axe, two loaves of bread and two bottles of soda.

Birik indicated that, this year, there have been no cases of poaching in Lake Nakuru National Park.

Specialized anti-poaching equipment

According to KWS South Rift Regional Assistant Director George Osuli, human settlement around the park remains a challenge hence making its fence porous to human intrusion.

Osuli said that though the park has entirely been fenced, resources are being mobilized to erect specialized equipment that will give real time information on human intrusion in the park hence fight poaching.

The poachers' bodies have been taken to a Mortuary in Nakuru.

Last year, the Kenyan government was under renewed pressure  to declare poaching a "national disaster" because of the rampant slaughter of the elephant and rhino.

Conservation groups have repeatedly said the state-run Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is losing the fight against poachers and the organised crime bosses that pay them, and that the country's famed wildlife – key to the nation's vital tourism economy – is on a fast track to destruction.

By Maureen Murimi