Security officers in the Mount Kenya regions have been ordered to shoot on sight criminals, following rampant cases of livestock theft in the region.
This is after efforts to manage to manage the security situation got out of hand, with some terming it as ‘economic sabotage’.
Data shows that 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.
Central Regional Commissioner, Wilfred Nyagwanga, while addressing the media gave the directive that all criminals be killed on sight if sighted.
“I’ve directed our security teams to shoot to kill anyone who will be found threatening lives and property with firearms,” Nyagwanga directed.
Police have been making efforts to recover stolen animals on a daily basis, and on Sunday September 12, they 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.
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