A deputy county commissioner on Thursday warned illegal butchers who steal animals in Lari, Kiambu, and slaughter them at night.
"Whoever is arrested will face the full force of the law regardless of who he is or she is. They will be a lesson to others," area deputy county commissioner Aaron Koros said.
Police have intensified day and night patrols to eradicate animal theft, he said.
Residents complained that each week between one and three cows are stolen in villages in Kinale ward and slaughtered. The meat is transported to Naivasha and Nairobi for sale.
A Nyumba Kumi member James Mureithi said the most affected villages include Kamae, Gathwariga, Ha Karinga, Ha Edward, Soko Mjinga and Ngumo.
"Last week, three cows were stolen at night from different homes and slaughtered. Before that, four animals were stolen. This is too much," Mureithi said.
Mureithi said last month 13 cows were stolen and killed. Residents are contemplating locking up their cows in their living rooms so that they are not stolen, he said.
He said their dogs do not bark whenever the thieves come to steal the animals between 11pm and 3am.
“Thieves slaughter the animals in our gardens, in nearby bushes or even inside the forest. What amazes us is that, they do it very quickly, the meat is them collected by either boda bodas or a vehicle," Mureithi said.
Koros said joint patrols by the police, community policing and Nyumba Kumi officials will help catch the thieves.
“These thieves sell uninspected meat to unsuspecting customers. It is wrong to steam some else's animals which is their source of income," he said.
Edited by Pamela Wanambisi
