Four bodies were on Sunday discovered at a farm reportedly owned by the Kenyan military, prompting outrage from locals.
The four young men are alleged to have trespassed on the farm near a Kenya Defence Forces barracks in Uasin Gishu county, in the Rift Valley region, to collect maize left over from a recent harvest when they were allegedly caught and beaten to death by the farm’s guards on Saturday night.
Locals said that some of the bodies had gunshot wounds.
Four other men who had also intruded on the farm are undergoing treatment for injuries including gunshot wounds and bruises at a local hospital.
Locals have expressed anger, saying that the guards should have arrested the young men instead of using lethal force against them.
“They were poor young men struggling to make ends meet. Collecting maize remains was a sign that they were poor and needed to be assisted but not be killed,” a local told privately-owned Standard newspaper.
A police official said the killings were under investigation.
The Kenya Defence Forces has not commented on the matter.