Conservationist wounded in Kenya shooting

ITALIAN-born author and conservationist Kuki Gallmann is being treated in a hospital in Nairobi after being shot in the stomach near her lodge in Kenya on Saturday night.

Gallmann, 73, who wrote the bestselling novel I Dreamed of Africa, was driving in her vehicle when she was ambushed, Kenyan media reported.

She was rushed to the Nanyuki County Hospital for emergency treatment before being flown to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for specialised treatment yesterday morning.

No further information on her condition was immediately available.

Last month, Kenyan cattle herders fired shots at Gallmann and her daughter after burning down her luxury lodge, which is frequented mainly by European tourists, at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.

Nomadic cattle herders have been carrying out raids on Kenya’s wildlife conservancies and private farms in the drought-stricken Laikipia region.

The attack on Gallmann comes after former British army officer and lodge owner Tristan Voorspuy, 61, was shot dead by herdsmen in the area on March 5.

The Laikipia region, which is spread over around 10 000 square kilometres, is a base for many of Kenya’s wealthiest landowners.

The Gallmann family, which owns the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, employs about 250 Kenyans in its lodges.

But the area has become increasingly dangerous in recent months due largely to a drought that is causing herders to look for new pastures.

The attack on Gallmann’s lodge was believed to be a reprisal after security forces shot dead cattle that belonged to the herders days before.

The Kenyan government sent forces into the area to restore order after the murder of Voorspuy, leading to skirmishes that have left dozens of herdsmen dead and thousands of residents displaced in the violence.