Kakamega Forest Reserve.

Kakamega forest is a National Reserve which is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. In 1993 I was requested to send in men to arrest charcoal merchants who had invaded the forest.The warden in-charge of the reserve  had only three rangers and he lacked transport. We had never been there before so two rangers from the reserve joined our patrol. Back then there were no roads in the reserve, so we packed our back packs with dry ration which would last us for three days. 
All other self belongings were packed into the vehicles which then were driven and parked in the park head quarters. We were twelve in total and we walked slowly for in most places we had to cut our way through in the forest thicket.  I have led patrols before in Mt Elgon forest for many years but it was totally difficult to walk in the kakamega forest as there were no big game which could open up paths. 
So we were forced to use machetes to clear paths and this took almost all our time. We managed to cover only five kilometers that first day before it rained and we were forced to make camp.

We were used to ants, but the kakamega ants were big and were everywhere. They did not bite but they got into our nerves for they found their way to our food, our clothing and eventually into our eureka tents. They were quite a nuisance , and though they were running away from the tormenting rain , they had no business coming to us.we expected them to go climb trees. 
We had a sleepless night and we could not light fires due to rain, so we covered our bodies with the tents and prayed for the sunrise which took long to appear. We could not make tea that morning but we took biscuits and gulped them down with water then we started from where we left the previous evening. 
By midday we came to the only river that cuts across the reserve and it took us time to find a place to cross it for it was swollen and had no bridges. We found a huge tree that had fallen across the river and two men had to clear the branches and make some foot holds before we eventually trooped over it to the opposite bank. 
30 minutes after crossing the river, we smelled smoke and we heard someone singing, so we stopped and sent in two rangers on Reece missions . It took them one full hour but they established that there were two camps and they saw only six people who were very relaxed for they were sure that no security men have ever reached these depths before.
 We consulted and it was agreed that due to lack of sleep the previous night, we could not guarantee the safety of the prisoners during the night so we chose to enjoy our sleep and do the rest in the morning. So we let them be, and we slept without posting sentries for the first time in many moons.

We were up before sunrise and found occupants of the first camp still asleep. The three were roped together and tied to a tree where we posted two rangers to guard them then we proceeded to the second camp which was a kilometer away. The paths between the two camps were well used meaning that they have been there for a long time and this was confirmed by the explanation given to us by the occupants of the second camp.
We heard them shout to each other in loud voices which told us that they were not in the same place. One man was seated near a burning tree while smoking a joint.We could not see the second man for he was in the bush probably fertilizing the forest floor , so we waited until he emerged still trying to tie his worn out belt.
 The guy in the bush was explaining to the one seated at the fire that they were sure to harvest three bags of charcoal every day for the next three months from the burning tree. We later realized that they had cut down a mature Elgon Tick tree whose trunk took six of us to circle while holding hands.  It was quite a shame to see a monster of a tree like that being felled for charcoal. Elgon Tick tree has some of the very hard timber in the world and it must have been there for over a hundred years.

The two men we arrested refused to tell us where the third member had gone, so we ambushed the camp and waited for him to come. We waited for more than three hours and when he finally came he took us by surprise , for he refused to surrender and attacked the rangers with the machete he was carrying. 
The man rushed the armed men while welding the sharp weapon above his head and did not heed the warning shots fired at his feet. 
The rangers shouted at him to stop but he kept on coming giving us creeps and hints that he was possessed.He tried to cut off the head of the lead ranger but he ended up cutting the FN rifle the ranger was using to block the  blow. 
The rest of the group , me included , did not wait to see who the man would try to behead next,  so  we all raised our weapons and opened up on him. He stood there shaking for a whole minute , gazing at us with his mouth wide open in disbelieve. I failed to see his eyes for there were bullet holes all over his head and by the time I called for a cease fire, his own mother would never have recognized him. He was quite a site, and he was in a mess, I felt sorry for him.

We dosed the fire and destroyed the kilns, then forced the guys we arrested to dig a shallow grave and bury their dead before we tied them to each other and marched them towards kakamega town. 
It took us two hours to reach the town and we booked them at the police station where we recorded statements on the  dead man. The police were amused when they saw the rifle cut and warned us never to try and arrest such people .  
They told us that the weed they smoke was not the normal one , and they always mix it  with other additives . Well,  he met his match that day and though we might have cut short his supply here on earth, he might as well get plenty more where he was heading to , but of course that also depended on where he was destined for.

We patrolled the forest for a whole week but never managed to arrest any more timber poachers, for  word had gone out that the Kenya Wildlife Service rangers were in town and not the Normal game department rangers from the kakamega station they were used to, and whom lacked muscle. 

We took a different route out on our way back and we went through Bungoma to Malakisi where we zeroed our weapons at the police range grounds before checking into the Cheptais wonder land for active engagement .