Irate residents of Isiolo and Meru want national and respective county governments in the region to take decisive action to end cattle rustling menace to protect property and lives in the two counties.

The cattle herders and farmer took to staged demonstrations to register their displeasure with the authorities following attacks by rustlers who they say have been terrorising the area and impoverishing families through frequent livestock raids.

The residents accused the authorities of dragging their feet even in the face of irrefutable evidence of complicity between security machinery and the perpetrators and questioned why stolen livestock is rarely recovered.

The livestock owners said the persistent attacks had left a trail of loss of lives, property and livelihoods, as most families in the region depend on livestock for survival.

According to the demonstrators, hardly a week goes without an attack. The stolen animals are often driven towards Isiolo and Samburu counties, leaving families in Maili Saba, Maili Tano and Maili Tatu vulnerable and destitute. Local leaders said hundreds of cattle, sheep and goats had been lost in recent months, with little recovery effort.

The residents appealed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to transfer security officers suspected of colluding with the rustlers. They alleged that some police officers, alongside National Police Reservists, were either unwilling or compromised to respond to the raids.

“The cattle thieves cross the Isiolo-Meru-Nanyuki main road, steal, and drive away animals from the Meru side. The area has two police posts and Anti-Stock Theft Unit officers at Maili Saba, yet they remain helpless. Even the National Police Reservists should be investigated because cases of rustling escalated after they were trained and deployed,” said political activist Mike Makarina.

Makarina pointed out that police should have acted swiftly after residents and police reservists allegedly recovered a mobile phone and an identity card from the trail of the raiders during a recent pursuit. He joined residents in holding protests on the Isiolo-Ruiri-Meru road, where demonstrators blocked the road with stones and boulders, paralysing transport. The angry residents engaged police in running battles, demanding action against rising insecurity.

During the protest, Makarina, a differently-abled activist, expressed solidarity with one of the victims, Ms Eunice Kaulu, a 43-year-old woman with a disability who recently lost more than 50 cows and goats in a raid. He accused security officers of frustrating recovery efforts, saying even when stolen animals were traced in Samburu, they were not retrieved.

He urged Interior Cabinet Secretary Murkomen to release resources to aid in the fight against rustlers and called on residents not to relent in the pursuit of justice.

Another victim, Peter Kailemia, revealed that more than 125 cattle and goats were stolen from three families in a single incident. He criticised officers assigned an armoured police vehicle for failing to confront the bandits despite knowing where the stolen animals had been driven.

“The officers showed little interest in ensuring our animals were returned. We urge the government to use all means possible to recover the stolen livestock,” Kailemia said.

The protesters accused the government of being slow to act even when evidence was provided. They vowed to continue demanding justice until authorities take meaningful steps to protect residents and their livelihoods.

Buuri East Sub-County DCIO officers urged residents to remain calm, assuring them that forensic investigations had begun. They said the recovered identity card and mobile phone would be analysed to help identify suspects and aid in bringing them to justice.

The residents, however, maintained that they would not remain silent as heavily armed rustlers continue to wreak havoc in their communities, robbing them of their only source of livelihood and endangering lives.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Eussania Adhiambo and David Nduro