Africa-Press – Kenya. The police in Mt Kenya have been given express shoot to kill orders, following rampant cases of livestock theft in the region.
The authorities have been making efforts to manage the situation, but matters have gone out of hand, with the situation being described as ‘economic sabotage’.
Yearly, counties in the region have been losing livestock worth Ksh 600M, with Kirinyaga county being the most affected.
The situation has been worse between 2019, 2020, and this year. So much so that residents had taken matters into their own hands and lynched a number of suspects.
It has, however, been dangerous for them since the suspects are usually armed with homemade guns, making rescue missions very deadly adventures.
Speaking to the media, the Central Regional Commissioner, Wilfred Nyagwanga has given a directive that all these thieves be killed immediately they are spotted.
“I’ve directed our security teams to shoot to kill anyone who will be found threatening lives and property with firearms,” Nyagwanga directed.
Police recover stolen animals from these thieves almost daily. On Sunday alone, September 12, for instance, the police were able to confiscate livestock valued at Ksh 5M from the thieves in Muranga County.
As a result, Murang’a South Sub-county police boss Alexander Shikondi has directed that all livestock markets, slaughterhouses and butcheries be under 24-hour surveillance.
“In Murang’a South, for example, we have ordered that all slaughterhouses be fitted with security cameras that must be functional at all times,” Shikondi said.
The officers have called upon members of the public to help by sharing information with the police over these incidents.
“We will take the battle to the criminals and will no longer wait to be awakened in the dead of night to go chase after them. We will use all the tactics and resources at our disposal to dismantle the criminal networks,” Nyagwanga remarked.
