The government has intensified its crackdown on cattle rustling by shifting focus to buyers involved in the illegal trade, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced.
Speaking after a security briefing in Maralal, the CS expressed concern over the role of livestock markets in Kerio Valley, which he said have become key avenues for the sale of stolen animals.
“There are markets here that sell livestock to buyers to take them to Nairobi and beyond,” Murkomen said.
He added that the government is now moving to hold such buyers accountable, noting that they are fuelling the cycle of cattle theft and insecurity in the region.
“I have told the intelligence and security teams to apprehend the buyers catalysing cattle rustling in this region,” he said.
The Interior CS was in Samburu County for a leaders’ consultative meeting on security, where he emphasised the government's resolve to address long-standing insecurity in the North Rift.
“No one found culpable will be spared,” he warned.
CS Murkomen said the region has long suffered from the effects of banditry and cattle rustling, and stressed that lasting peace will require disrupting the entire chain of the illegal trade, from rustlers to buyers.
In May this year, Murkomen announced a significant decrease in cases of banditry and livestock theft in the first quarter of 2025.
According to Murkomen, the progress is mainly attributed to the relentless efforts of security agencies across the country.
In a security report covering January to March 2025, the CS stated that the country recorded 167 cases of stock theft, a marked reduction from 263 cases reported during the same period last year.
