Police in Kirinyaga arrest 'notorious' cattle rustler
Kirinyaga East sub-county police boss Anthony Wanjuu. He said the suspected cattle thief was nabbed while trying to dispose the cow.
Police in Kirinyaga have arrested a man described as a notorious cattle rustler.
The suspect, who was on a police list of the ‘most’ wanted suspected criminals, was being questioned at the Kianyaga Police Station.
Kirinyaga East police boss Anthony Wanjuu said the suspect was arrested at Kithimu market in neighbouring Embu County as he was selling a ‘stolen’ cow and was whisked off to the station under tight security.
The cow belonged to Jenifer Wagatu, 78, a dairy farmer in Rukenya, Gichugu constituency.
Mr Wanjuu said Ms Wagatu woke up at 4am to milk her cow but found it missing from its shed.
She raised the alarm, drawing neighbours, who helped search for the animal and traced it to the market and alerted the police.
"The officers, who were acting on a tip-off, found the suspect with the animal at the market and seized him," said Mr Wanjuu.
The suspect, he said, is part of a well-organised gang that had been raiding homesteads in the dead of night in Kirinyaga and stealing animals.
"The man is a notorious rustler and he must face the law," said Mr Wanjuu.
Last week, dairy farmer Joseph Gatimu lost two bulls when rustlers raided his homestead in Mutithi village.
But police recovered the animals and arrested two suspects.
Mr Wanjuu vowed that police would not rest until all the rustlers on the loose are arrested and prosecuted.
"There has been hue and cry from residents following a series of cattle thefts and we must tame the rustlers," he said.
He observed that sometimes rustlers slaughter stolen animals and carry the meat as unsuspecting owners sleep.
