Kenyan police have yet to take witness statements or gather ballistic evidence from the site of an ambush where gunmen wounded a world-famous conservationist, sources say, and are unable to give details about suspect’s they said they arrested.
Kuki Gallmann, the 73-year-old Kenyan-Italian author of “I Dreamed of Africa,” was shot twice in the stomach on Sunday after gunmen ambushed her vehicle when she went to inspect arson damage on her conservation park in northern Kenya.
Leading politicians rapidly issued statements on the shooting, which could damage Kenya’s tourism industry, and the interior ministry announced on Monday that suspects had been arrested and a weapon recovered.
The attack follows months of violence and at least 14 civilian deaths in the Laikipia region. Herdsmen fleeing a severe drought have brought tens of thousands of animals onto private land.
Residents say politicians are encouraging the invasions, hoping to win support for lucrative seats in August elections, and criminal gangs are taking advantage of the chaos.
In March the government sent troops to Laikipia but the violence continues; four police were killed.
Gallmann, who was played by Kim Basinger in a 2000 movie adaptation of her book, is internationally renowned for her work on her 86,000-acre ranch and nature conservancy.
After the attack garnered international headlines, the interior minister swiftly announced suspects had been arrested.
But a source close to the investigation said they were only aware of one firearm recovered in the district on Sunday.
– By REUTERS
