Leaders from Isiolo and Meru Counties have called for more effort from government to curb the rampant cattle rustling incidents in the region, and demanded deployment of state machinery including aircraft to recover the over 1,000 cows that were recently stolen from Ameru herders along the border of the two counties.
Speaking at Mituntu village, Kianjai ward in Meru County during the burial of Late Councillor Elijah Mugambi who served as an elected councilor for Wabera Ward in Isiolo County for twenty years, the leaders who included MCAs from both Counties asked Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo who was also in attendance to coordinate other leaders from the region including the neighboring Samburu and Marsabit Counties, in order to effectively deal with the cattle rustling menace that have impoverished some communities for many decades.
Wabera ward MCA Salesio Kiambi noted that there was need for the government to station a ready aircraft and personnel to make immediate follow up once a raid is conducted and recover all stolen animals before they go very far, arguing that the move will greatly discourage criminals from carrying out further raids.
He also called upon leaders from areas that practice moranism to discourage the false notion among their community members that young men must steal livestock in order to attract a bride and get married, and instead encourage them to pursue education.
Kianjai ward MCA Ken Naibae said that the most appropriate way to honor the departed former Councilor who was hailed as a unifying factor among the various communities living in Isiolo County was to swiftly engage leaders from the areas where the recently stolen cows are hidden, recover them and hand them over to their rightful owners.
Ngaremara ward MCA Peter Losu who led a team of MCAs from Isiolo and Samburu Counties two months ago to convince CS Kindiki to shelve plans to conduct a security operation in the area and promised to persuade their community members to relinquish stolen livestock and identify criminals from their midst defended the action by the MCAs, arguing that their intentions were pure and bore fruit till many people came out to castigate them and derailed the process.
Losu said that it was shameful that a contingent of government security officers and herders who followed up on the recent raid on Ameru herders were easily repulsed by the armed criminals, challenging the government to invest better in the security personnel in order to dispel the notion that criminals were better equipped than the government security officers.
Luke Mithika, a resident of Isiolo who was among those who followed up the stolen livestock recounted how the armed raiders repulsed the security officers from climbing the hill where they allegedly hide stolen livestock, also calling for deployment of an aircraft in the livestock recovery mission.
The leaders noted that it was in public domain where the stolen livestock are hidden, and asked government to do better and recover the animals from the criminals.
Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo pledged to bring together leaders from the region to provide a lasting solution to the cattle rustling menace, and assured the mourners that all the animals that are allegedly hidden in some areas within Isiolo County will be recovered and handed over to their rightful owners.
Governor Guyo said that it was unacceptable to witness people wake up rich only to retire in the evening poor courtesy of activities by a few criminal elements.
Bruno Mutunga
