KWS ranger kills colleague, injures boss in drunken rage

An AK47 rifle. A KWS ranger shot dead his colleague and injured his boss in Mwea on August 24, 2016. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The ranger shot his boss, the reserve warden, Richard Njoroge Muiruri, in the head before running off into the bush.
  • The slain officer was shielding his boss when he was fatally wounded.
  • The warden is admitted at Embu Tenri Hospital where he is said to be  responding well to treatment.

A Kenya Wildlife Service ranger went berserk and shot dead his colleague and injured his boss at Mwea National Reserve on Tuesday.

Corporal Liban Kune is said to have disagreed with his boss when he shot dead Constable Joseph Nyaga, a driver, in a drunken rage.

He then gave chase and shot his boss, the reserve warden, Richard Njoroge Muiruri, in the head before running off into the bush.

The slain officer was shielding his boss when he was fatally wounded.

Mr Muiruri, 56, had tried to escape but the officer, who many described as a sharpshooter shot him in the head.

The warden is admitted at Embu Tenri Hospital where he is said to be  responding well to treatment.

After shooting the two, the assailant quickly loaded his rifle started firing indiscriminately.

He then fled into the game reserve while carrying his rifle but later surrendered after his wife pleaded with him, fearing he would be killed by police officers.

“What saved many of us is that he was drunk and he was unstable. He is a sharpshooter,” said one officer.

The evening incident caused tension in the usually sleepy nearby Makima market in Mbeere South.

It is said the officer had left camp for Embu town in the morning and spent most of the day drinking.