Cattle rustlers steal 200 sheep in Laikipia

Armed residents of Sossian in Laikipia west protest after raiders stormed the area and made away with 200 sheep on Sunday night.This came a day after they shot a 52 year old man and stole 300 cows. PHOTO BY JAMES MUNYEKI

Cattle rustlers raided Sossian village in Laikipia West and stole 200 sheep, yesterday.

The incident came barely a day after other raiders killed a 52-year-old man and stole 300 cows.

Kaliwo Lotome was in his house at around midnight on Saturday and was shot when he tried to resist.

In the latest incident, over 15 armed men stormed the village and terrorised residents.

They shot in the air several times to scare away locals before fleeing towards Samburu County.

Sossian MCA Jacob Edung said the raiders stormed the village at around 2am yesterday and took away the animals belonging to three families.

“They were all armed and shot several times in the air after residents raised the alarm. We did not dare to follow them since they had shot another man the previous day and hence residents feared for their lives,” he said.

Mr Edung noted that they alerted the police who gave chase, but in vain.

He urged the Government to deploy more police officers in the area to prevent further attacks.

“This is now turning tribal as it is members of one community who are being targeted. We fear that violence might erupt if this vice is not contained,” he warned.

Leaders from the region led by area Woman Representative Jane Apollos condemned the incident terming it as worrying.

“We cannot keep on losing lives each and every day. The Government should deploy officers along the border as we fear tribal violence could also occur,” she said.

Laikipia West Deputy County Commissioner Joel Cherop said police had been posted to the area and were trying to recover the stolen animals.