Wanted Kisumu-Nandi cattle rustler killed in police shoot-out

National Cohesion and Integration Commission Chairman Francis ole Kaparo with residents of Kibigori. [Photo: COLLINS ODUOR/STANDARD]

KISUMU: A most wanted cattle rustling suspect was Thursday morning killed in a shoot-out with the police.

Kipchumba Rono alias Willy Kabur, who has been linked to a series of livestock theft cases along the Kisumu-Nandi border, has been on the police radar for the last one year.

He was killed in Potopoto village while on an alleged raid mission. Two of his accomplices managed to escape.

The killing comes barely days after the launch of mediation efforts spearheaded by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) aimed at brokering peace among the warring communities.

The border experienced violence two weeks ago over cattle rustling. Six people are reported to have died and several others injured after residents of Kibigori in Kisumu and Chemase in Nandi clashed over cases of cattle theft.

County Commissioner John Elungata said the suspect, who had been adversely mentioned in the business, engaged the police in a fight before he was shot.

“Given the recent incidents of cattle theft, which led to a wave of violence in the area, the police have been conducting patrols and when they were confronted by the suspects, they responded and killed the suspect,” said Mr Elungata.

The suspect’s name was on the list of the most wanted cattle rustlers in the area, and was said to have escaped many police dragnets with the help of ‘powerful people’.

Elungata said the suspect has two homes; in Nandi and Kisumu, which had made it easier for him to plan and execute the raids across the two counties.

“We are asking the suspects who have been mentioned to surrender and be rehabilitated so that we completely end the issue of violence to enable people live in peace and engage in nation building,” said the administrator.

The NCIC team spent three days in the area in a bid to unite the two communities.

The team, led by commission Chairman Francis ole Kaparo, met residents of Kibigori in Kisumu and Chemase in Nandi and collected their grievances.

The team will today lead a joint meeting in Chemelil.