By MKT Correspondent
The National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) has launched a report that shades light on the effectiveness and potential of various mitigation measures by the government in dealing with livestock rustling and banditry
The report which was released by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) CEO Dr. Mutuma Muteere and titled ‘Managing the Dangerous Drift in Livestock Rustling and Banditry in Kenya’ targeted 13 counties in Kenya, with the highest incidence of livestock rustling and banditry according to statistics by the National Police Service.
The counties are Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Isiolo, Kitui, Laikipia, Marsabit, Meru, Samburu, Turkana, West Pokot, Tana River, Kisumu and Nandi.
The report indicates that the present-day livestock rustling and banditry menace is unique from the traditional form of cattle raiding as the menace has assume lethal patterns, with perpetrators do not appreciating the sanctity of human life and the need to protect it
Thus, there is a diminishing value for human life as evidenced by higher number of people injured and killed during livestock rustling and banditry as over 300 people have been killed since 2023
The NCRC has therefore recommended that the government through the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, together with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the State Department for Culture, The Arts and Heritage, and relevant religious groups, to spearhead relevant initiatives aimed at building and strengthening Kenya’s national conscience and ethos in the affected regions.
The study shows that livestock rustling and banditry menace had become a commonplace phenomenon on an upward trajectory in the pastoralist regions of the country, has evolved from a cultural practice to a majorly economic and commercial enterprise.
This being driven by factors of supply and demand for the stolen livestock for their products such as meat, mostly sold in Kenya’s urban areas during high season of August through December as these is considered a festive season when a lot of meat is consumed.
The study further implies that business persons who drive the commercialization of livestock rustling and banditry in Kenya were likely to exploit the meat demand during this time in order to maximum their profits.
The findings have therefore illustrated the need for the national and county government to carry out specific interventions which includes policing operations during the month of December when most livestock rustling and incidents are committed in the affected counties
The report additionally proposed other major mitigations to sustainably address livestock rustling and banditry which included: continuous disarmament exercises, enhanced
Collaboration among security agencies and other stakeholders, programs for enhancing peace, national cohesion and integration among communities involved in livestock rustling and banditry, enhanced resourcing of security agencies in livestock rustling and banditry-prone areas, instituting initiatives for enhanced literacy and accessibility to formal education, enhanced awareness creation and discouraging negative cultural practices and close surveillance and monitoring of suspected handlers, hotspots and trafficking routes of illicit firearms.
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