Laikipia, Samburu ranchers cry foul as land sharks invade their farms

Residents of Ngare Nyiro village block the entrance to Segera Ranch after a ranch worker was shot dead allegedly by illegal herders who have invaded the ranch with hundreds of cattle. [Photo: Job Weru/Standard]

Private ranch owners in Laikipia and Samburu have accused the government of doing nothing to stop what they term as a brazen assault onto their properties by politicians.

Illegal herders, cattle rustlers and armed youth continue to run riot within the ranches and conservancies in what the land owners say is a bid to intimidate them into selling off the farms to prominent politicians. They accuse the politicians of inciting the herders of 135,000 head of cattle to invade the ranches.