•Charles Nduva, 38, was killed by the public after he was reportedly found in possession of a stolen cow at Kwangii village in Nguluni location, Matungulu subcounty on Sunday.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
A man has been lynched for allegedly stealing a cow in Matungulu, Machakos County.
Charles Nduva, 38, was killed by the public after he was reportedly found in possession of a stolen cow at Kwangii village in Nguluni location, Matungulu subcounty on Sunday.
Matungulu subcounty police commander Monica Kimani said Nduva was a repeat offender with three cases of stock theft pending before the Kangundo law courts.
The matter was reported to KBC Police Station as stock theft and mob injustice on Sunday.
“It occurred on the night of January 23, 2022, at around 0130 hours. It was reported by Dominic Musyimi, a resident of Nguluni location, Kwangii sublocation that he securely locked his cattle boma and retired to bed.
"He was awoken by unusual mowing of his cows. He raised alarm and villagers responded in large numbers and combed the entire area. The cow was spotted at Nduva’s home. When questioned, he was unable to explain how the brown bull valued at Sh55, 000 got to his homestead,” Kimani said.
Kimani spoke to the Star by phone on Sunday.
She said an irate mob killed the suspect and later set the body ablaze.
The police boss said officers from Matungulu Sub County police division processed the scene and removed the remains to Kangundo Level Four Hospital awaiting a postmortem.
The incident happened at a time when police have stepped up war on stock theft in Machakos county and its environs.
Police in Athi River are holding five stock theft syndicate suspects after they were smoked from their hideouts in Machakos, Kajiado, Nairobi and Kiambu counties.
The sixth suspect in the syndicate, according to police, was being held at Kiserian police station.
The suspects detained at Athi River police station include Pauline Muthoni, David Macharia, Peter Njenga, Ngenoi Hilalu, and Samwel Mwangi.
“In the past one and a half years, we have had a series of stock theft within Machakos County and its environs that include Kajiado, Nairobi, and Kiambu counties. From the onset, we were convinced that this was an organized crime that was being carried out by a cartel,” Athi River Subcounty police commander Anderson Njagi said.
Njagi said they had put the cartels on their radar.
The police boss said they made the arrests after intensive investigations with the help of the Athi River DCI detectives alongside their counterparts from the Forensic Investigations Department at the headquarters.
“And this culminated into the night of December 16, 2021, when we lost 15 herds of cattle stolen from Portland village within Athi River. After this incident, we embarked on intensive investigations which involved both physical and forensic analysis,” Njagi said.
“Through that, we were able to place the six suspects at the scene of the incident. We have been able to get a local agent who is normally the conduit. He goes around surveying cattle bomas so that they steal the cattle and other livestock,” he added.
Njagi named Hilau as a Masaai who hails from Oloitoktok but lives in Kitengela town in Kajiado county. He is the cartels’ spy and conduit.
Macharia is the driver of a Mitsubishi lorry KBG 876 K used to transport the 15 heads of herds from Athi River to Naivasha according to Njagi.
The vehicle has been impounded at Athi River police station to be used as one of the exhibits in court.
He said Njega is the cartels’ financier and finances all the illegal businesses the suspects are involved in. He was arrested in Ruiru.
“Njega, the financier of all the illegal businesses owns a series of meat outlets around Nairobi’s Eastern Bypass and within Ruiru town in Kiambu County. We have additionally established that a number of these suspects including Njenga have several pending cases in courts within Kajiado, Matungulu, and Athi River,” Njagi said.