This archive report was first published on 9 September 2021.
On September 9, 2021, the life of Senior Kenya Wildlife Service officer Bajila Kofa was brutally cut short in a hail of bullets outside Meru National Polytechnic.
According to relatives and colleagues, Kofa had expressed fear for his life in the days leading up to his death, citing concerns about his security.
‘When God is about to take you to a greater level, everything will go crazy. Friends will betray you. You will be left alone. In that very moment, God will be your only source and He alone will take the glory,’ Kofa had posted on his WhatsApp profile, a poignant reflection of his own fears.
As a commander at the KWS Nyeri Company, Kofa was tasked with ensuring maximum security at Solio ranch, a key breeding ground for black rhinos that have been plagued by poaching.
However, in the days prior to his death, Kofa was allowed to keep a gun for his personal protection, a move that would ultimately prove futile.
On the day of his death, Kofa had dropped off his daughter at Nkuene Girls High School in Meru County and was returning to his base when he was ambushed by two Subaru Outback cars.
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with Kofa's attackers opening fire on his vehicle, deflating the front tyre and injuring the officer in the thigh and waist.
Despite his best efforts to outrun his attackers, Kofa lost control of his vehicle and it landed in a ditch. One of his attackers then walked over to the officer's vehicle and shot him dead.
When the dust settled, Kofa's bullet-riddled saloon car was left with at least 30 bullet holes, a grim testament to the brutality of the attack.
A postmortem conducted on Kofa's body revealed that he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, with three of the bullets fired at close range.
As the investigation into Kofa's death continues, questions remain about the identity of his killers and the motives behind the brutal attack.
