Cattle rustlers should be charged with robbery with violence and murder, Samburu county leaders have said.
Governor Moses Lenolkulal said they should face these charges after returning the domestic animals they steal.
Speaking in Baragoi after a security meeting on Saturday evening, the governor noted that for many years, cattle rustlers have killed herders during planned raids.
Lenolkulal further noted that
locals and security agents usually focus on recovering animals only.
"For victims to get justice, elders should negotiate the return of stolen animals while police make sure killers are apprehended and charged in a court of law."
Samburu North MP Alois Lentoimaga said the approach to cattle rustling should change from negotiations by elders to courtroom prosecutions.
The MP noted that the crime will persist because the bereaved feel justice is never served so they plan retaliatory attacks.
“For justice to be served, the recovery of animals should be handled separately and murder in a court of law, instead of giving the families of the dead a few goats and cows."
He asked Interior cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i
to prioritise the eradication of cattle rustling among communities that practice pastoralism.
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