Residents of Ngorongo village in Gatundu North sub-county, Kiambu county have protested over rampant cattle theft in the area, saying it has continued to devastate their economic well-being alongside threatening peaceful co-existence.
Consequently, the villagers have appealed to the government to intervene so that they can recover the animals which are stolen at night past curfew hours.
On Monday night, residents said that at least eight hybrid milking cows were stolen from various homes leaving households that rely on selling milk for survival confused.
Cattle rustlers are reported to have been using lethal sedatives which they spray to various targeted homes to force residents to sleep unconsciously allowing them to easily execute their ill missions.
They are reported to have been loading the animals in lorries for sale in far-off markets, a crime that is executed late in the night.
The burglary, coupled with rising insecurity in the village and the sub-county at large is worrying residents who have now petitioned security authorities to step up the hunt for the criminals.
Jane Waithera, a middle-aged woman who has been depending on her only cow for survival said she only realized that her source of livelihood had been stolen when she woke up early to milk. The seemingly disturbed woman said that with the help of neighbours, they launched a search for the animal, efforts she said were unproductive.
Less than a kilometer from Waithera’s home, Theresiah Nyokabi Kung’u, a diabetic widow is found confused by how the robbers managed to invade her home and got away with her only cow alongside another belonging to her son.
Her cow, she said, had only lasted a week after she gave birth to a calf that was now left without an alternative source of essential milk.
Nyokabi who uses the proceeds of milk sale to purchase drugs and provide basic necessities for her family took issue with local administration over laxity in containing the intensified challenge.
The locals now want the government to make prompt interventions to contain the situation as well as compensate the dairy farmers who have been left without sources of livelihood.