Three men were found shot dead in Kibosit Forest, Chepchoina, Trans Nzoia County, on June 21, in a violent incident that has stirred anger and tension between local residents and security forces.

The victims Emmanuel Wanyonyi Wafula, 73, Samuel Barasa Wanyonyi, 22, and Nabende Mukulo, a Ugandan national were discovered with multiple close-range gunshot wounds.

Police told The Star the men were likely ambushed while making charcoal in the forest.

A survivor of the attack, who fled the scene and alerted villagers, claimed they were ambushed by eight armed men.

When police and Kenya Forest Service officers arrived to retrieve the bodies, they were met with hostility from enraged locals and had to fire warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

Four officers were briefly separated from their colleagues during the chaos but were later found unharmed.

Suspicion among residents is mounting, with some accusing security agencies of playing a role in the killings allegations the authorities have not confirmed.

Police have opened investigations into the incident, even as tensions in the area continue to rise.

The killings come amid ongoing crackdowns on illegal charcoal production and deforestation, practices that remain prevalent in forested regions and frequently bring communities into conflict with enforcement agencies.