Rustlers' raid in Isiolo ahead of market day turns deadly

Traders at the Isiolo Livestock Market where cattle, goats and sheep are traded. (File, Standard)

Armed rustlers staged a daring raid at a sales yard within Isiolo municipality to steal animals meant for the next day’s market.

While shooting blindly, the bandits stormed the donor-funded facility, which also has a police post, rounded up cattle, and even managed to trek away with them.

However, the incident at Maisha Bora Estate at around 8:50 pm on Sunday frightened the neighbourhoods extending to Odha, Bule, and Kambi Garba estates, on the outskirts of Isiolo town.

Sounds of rifle shots rent the air for nearly 15 minutes. The area is about 3 km from the County headquarters and less than a kilometre from the Isiolo-Moyale Highway.

In a rare but swift move, police from the post and National Police Reservists, who later received reinforcement from colleagues at Central Police Station, engaged the bandits in a fierce shoot-out. The security personnel managed to recover the stolen animals, with the attackers fleeing the area.

According to an initial incident report on Sunday night, one of the rustlers died in the shoot-out, while an unknown number of cows were injured in the crossfire.

"It is reported by Chief Odha Location that there has been an attempted livestock theft at Odha Livestock Market at 20:50 hrs. All livestock were recovered by the police officers from Odha Police Post who are within the market compound," the incident report from the post, seen by The Standard, read in part.

It added, "It is further reported that in the exchange of fire during the incident, one of the bandits was fatally shot, and several cows sustained bullet wounds. The cows stolen and later recovered were meant for Monday’s (yesterday) livestock market day."

At least ten similar attacks targeting animals meant for either slaughter at the local abattoir or the livestock market have occurred in the same area.

In one incident last April, a young football fan was shot dead metres from the Isiolo Police barrier, along the Isiolo-Moyale Highway, by bandits who had stolen animals on a market-day eve in the same area.

In a related development, angry residents of Kiirua Sub-location in Buuri Constituency, Meru County, blocked a section of the Meru-Isiolo road in protest against frequent cattle rustling incidents.

On Sunday night, at around 11:30 pm, a man was shot dead, and an unknown number of cattle were stolen from a settlement area in Kiirua’s Maili Tatu area by alleged rustlers. The area is about 5 km from the centre of Isiolo town.

Peter Kinoti, a member of Nyumba Kumi from the affected area, appealed to police to pursue the rustlers and recover all the stolen animals.

"The bandits who come from Isiolo are used to stealing our livestock, which are hardly ever returned. Our elected leaders must push the police to go after the thieves and return our property," said Mr Kinoti.

By 1 pm yesterday, the Isiolo-Nairobi Highway remained blocked, with motorists travelling to Meru, Nanyuki, and Nairobi opting to use a longer route that required them to return to Isiolo town, divert to Muthara Road in Nyambene Sub-county, and later head to Meru town—an extra distance of about 40 km.