‘I Dreamed of Africa’ Author and Conservationist Is Shot in Kenya
message that said, "2 Arsons by herders and shooting reported." She added in a separate bubble: "Fire ongoing." On Sunday morning, Mrs. Gallmann, 73, was driving across her vast ranch to visit a lodge
that the raiders had just ransacked. that A few days later, she sent another
As she drove back from the lodge in her car, with the wildlife rangers chugging along behind her, she saw a group of raiders on a hill, friends said.
"More weapons, more young men without role models, without prospects, without an education, without a future." She seemed to sense, even before she was shot,
that she was dealing with people who had nothing to lose.
Analysts say the violence between herders and landowners is worse in Laikipia this year because of the elections
and because of the severe drought that has desiccated much of eastern Africa.
Over the next few hours, wildlife rangers, a British Army field medic and doctors in Nairobi, the capital, raced to save her life.
This past week, violence broke out across Kenya during primary balloting — a worrying sign for many Kenyans, who already dread elections
because they often bring out the worst in the country, raising ethnic tensions and leading to bloodshed.
After Mrs. Gallmann was shot on Sunday morning, wildlife rangers fired back at the raiders, who fled into the bush.
