Poor youths team up with butchers to drive spate of cattle theft in Kisumu

A network of well-coordinated businessmen and youths are behind cattle-rustling, which is believed to have led to the killing of the parents of Nyakach MP Aduma Owour, Nation investigations reveal.
The businessmen, most of whom run butcheries in Kisumu, team up with youths from Kisumu, Nandi and Kericho counties to drive the spate of cattle thefts that have plunged the county into fear and despair.
The youths who work with the attackers operate under oath and are tasked to give details of the number of cattle in a home, type of shed and location and the operations of the community policing groups.

They sell the information to the businessmen, who give it to armed groups for the raids. The stolen animals are then driven from the Nyabondo Plateau towards Kericho County.

MARKET PLACE

Investigations reveal that the attackers usually deliver the stolen cattle to the buyers at a place called ‘Dot Com’ in Tabaita Location of Kericho County.
The businessmen are said to be regular visitors of an estate in Sondu Town called Kariobangi, where most of the attacks are planned.
Mr Owour, whose parents who were killed on November 8, will be buried today, has been at the forefront in the fight against cattle rustling and the killing of his parents is believed to have been an attempt to silence him. The elderly couple was beaten to death and their house set ablaze.
Senior police officers from Nyanza, however, said that many suspects of the cattle thefts had been set free for lack of evidence to associate them with the crime.
Nyanza Regional Coordinator Charles Narangwi, in a statement to the Nation, said tremendous progress had been made in tackling cattle theft in Nyakach, adding, police were keen on following leads regarding the suspects.
“After the incident in the MP’s home, we enhanced patrols at the Nyabondo Plateau; even the speed of response by the police has since improved,” Mr Narangwi said and warned leaders against introducing politics into the issue.
Deputy Provincial Police boss Zachary Tum asked political leaders to work with security agencies to end the menace.
“Anti-stock theft units have been reinforced with more police put on patrol beats in the crime hot spots; let the leadership of the region also join hands with us in the good work other than marshalling troops against the police through protests,” he said.
Community elders have however, blamed the thefts on security officers’ laxity, which, they say, could lead to a repeat of 1992-type clashes between Nandi and Luo communities living on the volatile Chemelil border.
The attacks have assumed a political angle with leaders accusing each other of being behind the funding, organisation and execution of the atrocities.
Mr Aduma took to the floor of Parliament on November 13 and sensationally accused his opponent in the last General Election Erick Okeyo of being behind the attacks with the help of senior government officials.
“A few days before that incident took place, I received threats from one of the young people, who run security firms. He told me that he is a very good friend of Nyanza PC Mr Francis Mutie and Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo.

They said that they must audit me. He is just a civilian and he has police bodyguards. He is just an ordinary Kenyan,” Mr Aduma said during the discussion of a motion on insecurity in Nyanza moved by Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura.
So far, more than 10 people have been killed, several houses burnt and more than 400 cattle stolen from the area this year alone.
Inspector General of police David Kimaiyo and Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Joseph Ole Lenku visited clash-torn areas of Kisumu County early this month and sought to reassure residents on security, but the situation has not changed.
The chairman of the Kadiang’a Elders Community Group George Abuom blamed the couple’s killing on police laxity.
“We are taken aback by the high state of neglect by police. The home of the MP is situated barely 500 meters from a police post. We have had cases of suspects being arrested and set free. We want the security leaders of the region reshuffled to represent a national face; the persons accused of creating a market for stolen livestock come from the same community of the senior police officers manning the region,” he said.

VIGILLANTE GROUPS
Mr Zablon Owiti, the coordinator of community policing, said they had organised 11 vigillante groups comprising 10 men each to patrols the area.
“The clan-based community policing officers patrol the village from as early as 8pm. We have 11 groups spread across Kamgan, Kobongo, Kodul and Kamnwang’ clans. These groups’ efforts have failed as the thieves have gone to an extent of recruiting their people who feed them with all the information about our security plans,” he said.
The community policing concept has only managed to rescue a few animals, Mr Owiti said adding that the flat land in the Nyabondo plateau had many narrow paths, making it easy for the assailants to escape.