•The suspects had made off with five goats, intending to transport them elsewhere.
•Residents ambushed the suspects before setting their vehicle on fire.
Image: The Star
Five suspected rustlers narrowly escaped death after the car they were travelling in was deliberately set on fire in Kirinyaga county.
Mwea-West subcounty police commander Mbatian Kantai confirmed the incident.
The incident unfolded in Soweto village, nestled within Thiba ward, Mwea Constituency, as vigilant residents stopped the vehicle.
According to one of the Nyumba Kumi elders in the area, the occupants of the vehicle had courageously made off with five goats, intending to transport them elsewhere.
“The occupants had stolen five goats and were ferrying them,” Rhoda Wamutira, a Nyumba Kumi elder said as reported by Citizen Digital.
According to reports, preliminary investigations unveiled a highly developed network operated by the rustlers.
“Their accomplices in the village would steal the animals and then alert the pick-up team,”
Prompted by a tip-off, residents ambushed the suspects before setting their vehicle on fire.
Fate seemed to play its part, as the vehicle became stuck in the mud, akin to the age-old adage of "forty days for a thief."
The suspects are said to have fled the scene, leaving behind both their loot and the vehicle.
According to concerned residents, the audacious thieves conduct meticulous daytime reconnaissance of their targets before plotting their raids.
“The livestock thieves survey our homes during the day before planning a raid,” a resident said.
Kantai assured the community that every effort was being exerted to track down the suspects and bring them to justice.
This incident has sounded alarm bells for residents of Wamutira, who are grappling with an escalating wave of livestock thefts in the region.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei had earlier proposed a law that cattle rustlers should face life imprisonment.
“Where, for the purpose of stealing any livestock or produce, or in the course of stealing any livestock or produce, violence or the threat of violence is used, such person is liable, on conviction, to a life term of imprisonment,” the Bill states.
The Prevention of Livestock and Produce Theft Bill, 2023 proposes punitive punishment and radical reforms to tame cattle rustling in various parts of the country.