The government has intensified the crackdown on suspected
livestock thieves in Nyandarua County following public outcry over the severity
of losses encountered.
According to Interior and National Administration Cabinet
Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, through a multi-agency team approach, the
security officers have arrested and arraigned some people, and the operation is
ongoing to net more suspects.
Addressing journalists at Nyandarua County Commissioner's
office at the start of the grassroots security engagement, the CS vowed to
ensure the culprits are dealt with as per the law and to have the crime stamped
out in the county.
He noted that the crime has mutated from stealing livestock
to slaughtering the animals in the pens and carrying the steak in the dead of
the night.
"Cases of livestock theft have significantly reduced,
owing to the efforts of administrative units working hand in hand with
Wananchi, who have taken seriously the advice by the security officers,"
stated the CS.
He spoke as he acknowledged that local farmers have suffered
significant losses, which culminated in the burning of Ndunyu Njeru police
station in Kinangop constituency, where three suspects accused of livestock
theft died.
He, however, urged locals not to take the law into their
hands and resort to mob justice to register their frustrations.
"I was told graphically that since Nyandarua is very
cold, when people go to sleep, they go to sleep, and thieves know," said
the CS, noting that the thieves don't come from far and they usually scan the
homestead before stealing livestock.
"There is a new phenomenon where they don't drive away
the livestock, they slaughter and take the meat to sell in some of the
butcheries where there is collusion. The citizens here took it seriously, and
they have been cooperating with security officers. On the issue of the burnt
police station, the irate mob, the members of the public, as a result of the
suspects we were holding, attacked.”
“The contributing factor is that the suspects were told to
be cattle thieves, and citizens had lost faith in the justice system. No one should take the law into their own
hands; they should be taken through a court process, and in the process of
interrogation, it helps appreciate the depth and network that perpetrators' mob
justice," he stressed
Murkomen said it is important to allow the suspects to go
through the court despite the anger and frustrations.
The hotspot areas identified include Kinangop, Olkalou and
Ndaragua.
The intensified security operations have led to numerous
arrests and prosecutions.
He also weighed in on the recent theft of National
Identification Cards, saying the process is on to replace them.
He warned against identity theft, saying those found
misusing another person's identity will be dealt with by the law.
