•Kaloki was involved in a gun drama on Friday last week when he chased away the livestock farmers protesting against cattle rustling.
• On May 2, an elder driven off by Kaloki, Mzee Mokira Oloyondi, 75, told the Star he lost 70 cows, 78 sheep and goats in three months.
Livestock farmers in the Kisaju area of Isinya subcounty in Kajiado are demanding the sacking of police boss Ancient Kaloki for alleged connection with cattle rustling.
The farmers, who are currently converging at the Isinya slaughterhouse, want Kaloki sacked along with his DCIO.
Kaloki was involved in a gun drama on Friday last week when he chased away the protesting livestock farmers whose livestock was stolen.
My stolen livestock were in trucks through all the roadblocks between Isinya and Athi River. We demand to know why charcoal traders are arrested and not [thieves of] live cows and goats?”Mzee Mokira Oloyondi
They had converged at the Isinya police station to demand why those involved in livestock theft are not arrested. They said they had provided police with the registration number of a vehicle used to ferry stolen sheep and goats to Nairobi.
The police boss Kaloki that Friday drew his gun as the farmers demanded action, and threatened to confiscate cameras from the journalists covering the event.
On Monday, one of the elders chased away by Kaloki, Mzee Mokira 'Mewdu' Oloyondi, 75, told the Star in Isinya he has lost 70 cows and 78 sheep and goats in the three months.
“My livestock were stolen and carried away in trucks through all the police roadblocks mounted between Isinya and Athi River. We are demanding to know why charcoal traders are arrested on those roadblocks and not live cows and goats?” Oloyondi asked.
He also said police officers in Isinya, Kisaju, and Kitengela are busy raiding bars every evening to collect 'protection' money from the owners.
When the Star attempted to seek comment from claims from Kaloki over the phone, he hurled unprintable words and said that he does not deal with the media.
The farmers claimed they reported 17 cases of livestock theft to the Isinya police station and no action was taken by the officers.
But county police commander Muthuri Mwongera said that only seven cases of livestock theft were reported to the Isinya police station.
Mwongera said some rustlers arrested or handed to the police went free because the complaints dropped their charges.
“When our officers take those cases to court, the same complainants claim they are their sons and withdraw the cases,” Mwongera claimned.
On the gun drama caused by the subcounty police boss on Friday, Mwongera said all police officers are trained to work closely with the media.
“We have no problem with the media at all, I work with them closely and they should be given answers when they ask questions,” Mwongera.
Daniel Ukah, another livestock farmer, asked why the police officer commanding the Isinya subcounty is not cooperating with the people reporting the theft of their livestock.
“The OCPD or the subcounty police commander is in charge of our security and yet he is chasing us out of the police station whenever we want him to address us,” Ukah claimed.
Farmer Benjamin Tipatet, who is also a human rights defender, demanded the removal of Kaloki, DCIO, and police office who have worked in the Isinya subcounty for more than five years.
Kaloki, while serving in Nairobi county in 2021, made headlines when he fired tear gas canisters on German groadcaster Deutsche Welle journalist Mariel Müller, who was then covering a protest in the city.
Amnesty International and the Foreign Press Association of Africa condemned the attack which happened on May 1, 2021.
The police fired tear gas canisters at Müller with one canister grazing her and a second injuring her leg while she was conducting an interview.
“Kenyan police shot me twice in the leg with a tear gas canister fired by a gun. The second time they hit me directly while we were interviewing people for DW,” Müller said.
She was covering a peaceful protest against police brutality and coronavirus lockdown measures in central Nairobi.
“Around 40 protesters gathered to voice their opposition to Covid restrictions and the economic impact on poorer communities. The demonstrators were careful to adhere to social distancing rules "to not anger the police", Müller told DW.
"The police were there and observed the first part [of the protest] and then eventually started firing tear gas," she said
(Edited by V. Graham)