•They were handed to owners following Monday's dialogue between Rendile and Borana elders.
•The goats recovered in Hula Hula are part of the 99 which had been stolen by armed bandits on Sunday evening.
Image: FILE
Some 48 goats stolen from Olla Ginda in the Saku constituency, Marsabit county, have been recovered.
They were handed to owners following Monday's dialogue between Rendile and Borana elders.
The goats recovered in Hula Hula are part of the 99 which had been stolen by armed bandits on Sunday evening.
The recovery took the elder's effort to identify where the animals were hidden.
Rendile elders on Monday, in a meeting with Borana elders, asked for two days to search for stolen animals.
During the handover in Hula Hula, an elder from Rendile stressed the need to have a dialogue in the recovery of the remaining stolen animals.
He said the forceful seizure is ineffective adding that in most cases in the past, the use of force by securing teams delays the repossession of animals.
"We started the search after we heard footprints of the animals stolen and traced in the hidden area. We convene a series of meetings that made it successful," said the elder.
He said community dialogue always gives them hope of finding remaining ones and it helps in peaceful coexistence among the communities.
After receiving his animals, Qalla Baqaja praised the elders from the two communities for having a dialogue.
He expressed optimism that the remaining 51 goats will be recovered and handed back to them.
Saku MP Dido Ali Raso appealed to elders to take a leading role in peacebuilding and carry out a search for the remaining animals to be recovered.
He urged youths to be at the forefront of peacebuilding and refrain from involvement in crimes.
The MP said cattle rustling had brought pain and suffering to the residents.
"Livestock is the main source of income. The bandits taking them away would not only be inhumane but heinous," said the Saku mp
Raso said the government needs to be proactive when dealing with the matters of animal banditry and called on the government to curb rustling in order to spur cohesion and peaceful coexistence.
He added that rampant cases of cattle rustling have made the area lag behind in terms of development.
While thanking the elders for their efforts in the recovery of half of the animals stolen, Marsabit central MCA Hassan Wako Jarso said the recovery is a sign of truce.
He stressed the need for peaceful coexistence and asked the national government to continue spearheading the peace process to achieve cooperation and coexistence among all tribes.
He said banditry is a crime similar to robbery as the raiders kill the herders in order to take animals successfully.