Police in Laikipia county have been put on high alerrt following increased cases of cattle rustling along Laikipia and neighbouring Eastern Pokot and Samburu districts.
The move has been preceded following theft of 70 cows and shooting dead of a herder by bandits at a local ranch in Laikipia East.
A five member gang raided Ole Naishu ranch, shot the 30-year old guard at the wee hours of the night and eloped with the cows amongst them 5 calves.
Laikipia East police boss Joshua Lutukai confirmed that the said gang raided the ranch belonging to Christopher Purt.
“Those criminals might have been heavily armed but we only retrieved one bullet at the scene which shot the guard,” said the police commander.
At this moment, only three of the cows have been retrieved and police say that the rustlers might have already entered Isiolo County.
The OCPD has cautioned Laikipia residents to be very careful with their employees, saying that they are the key organizers of rustling in the region.
Lutukai notes that cattle rustling has given them sleepless nights and that they are exerting more efforts to ensure that the vice being wiped away from the region.
“We want to tell the rustlers that they can’t run away from the arm of law. We won’t relent hunting you down”, he said.
Lutukai is pleading with the residents to report any suspicious rustler or any raid to his office so that the whole of Laikipia can be free from cattle rustling
Recently, more than ten cases of cattle rustling have been reported in Laikipia and have led to massive killings and lose of livestock.
The area security team has continued fighting the vice against all odds with some of the victims been convicted at Nanyuki law Courts.
Speaking to the press Laikipia County Commissioner Wycliffe Ogallo said that Laikipia is a cosmopolitan County and that such cases of cattle rustling should not continue eroding its peace.
“Your wealth as pastoralists is like an umbilical cord that connects a baby to its mother. So you should protect what you have by finding other methods like farming in order to counter the rustlers”, said the Commissioner.
He said that the Kenya Defense Force entered Somali to fight the Al Shabaab terrorists who had been destructing the peace of Kenyans, adding that any person fighting against peace in Laikipia is the enemy of the government.
Ogallo urged Laikipia residents to shun cattle rustling and instead engage themselves in other income generating activities.
He warned people against having many children as it may also precipitate cattle rustling due to economic constrains.
As the vice continues claiming many lives of Laikipians, the area security team assures that it is steadfast to curb further cases.
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