TWO suspected poachers were yesterday morning shot dead at the Solio Ranch Sanctuary in Nyeri. The two middle-aged men broke into the heavily guarded ranch at about 3am.

However, Kenya Wildlife Service rangers spotted them and shot them on the spot. One of the poachers was armed with a G3 rifle while the other one was armed with a Somali sword.

Nyeri Police boss Kirunya Limbitu said a pair of pliers, a torch and seven bullets were also recovered at the scene. "They were targeting a black rhino or white rhino, which are very rare species in the area," said Kirunya who was accompanied by Kieni West DO John Marete.

He said the two gained entry at the Eastern side of the ranch after cutting the electric fence using pliers. Kirunya added that police have leads which will help in investigations because they recovered a mobile phone.

"The two who were aged between 35 and 40 years of age were taking advantage of the bright moon during the night unfortunately or fortunately were seen by the KWS personnel before they killed any wild animal," he added. The bodies were taken to Nyeri Provincial General Hospital for postmortem.