Police in Laikipia on Tuesday battled a rowdy group that stormed Kinamba Police Station to try and drive away 200 cattle that were recovered from suspected bandits in Baringo County.
Gunshots rent the air as police fired several live bullets to scare away the group from the neighbouring Baringo, that claimed the animals seized a week ago in a security operation, belonged to them.
Three members of the group were arrested while the rest fled with the police hot in pursuit.
The cows were recovered from Baringo after being allegedly stolen from Wangwachi, Matuiku and Ol Moran areas last week.
The incident occurred as Laikipia County Commissioner Daniel Nyameti was preparing to hand over the stolen animals to their rightful owners who had gathered at the station.
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According to Nyameti, the cows belonged to Laikipia residents and they had been called to identify them.
“The exercise to release the animals to the rightful owners was going on well until some people that we believe are from Baringo, where we recovered the animals, stormed the meeting. We had no option but to shoot in the air to disperse them," he said.
The county commissioner noted that the function later went on well and the animals were handed back to their owners.
"Every person got his or her stolen cow back after identification. We will not tolerate such kind of behaviour," noted Nyameti.
He noted that security had been beefed up in the villages along the Laikipia-Baringo border.
"Police officers are on the ground to maintain peace in the area. We want to end this menace once and for all," he said.
Villages in the area have recently experienced increased cases of banditry attacks that have seen hundreds of livestock stolen.
