On April 7 last year, Ms Pilisila Wanjiru, a dairy farmer at Gichungwa village in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua County, woke up to find her 14 dairy cows missing.
Ms Wanjiru would later positively identify the 14 hides of her cows a few metres from her home.
Police arrested two people in connection with the crime after finding meat from the slaughtered animals packed in plastic bags. The meat had stamps from meat inspectors.
The Nation can now reveal how unscrupulous meat inspection officers are abetting the theft of livestock by approving the slaughter of stolen animals at night and getting paid by the cattle thieves.
Abattoir employees in Ol Kalou revealed that the inspection officers collect up to half the value of the meat in their night escapades.
“They ask for between Sh200 and Sh500 for goats and between Sh700 and Sh1,000 for the cows. They collect a lot of money, considering the number of cows that are slaughtered here every day,
“Once you pay them, they just approve your meat. It will be hard for the owner of the cattle to know that the meat is from his own stolen cows,” an abattoir employee told the Daily Nation.
Mr Samuel Mwangi, who works in a slaughterhouse in Nyahururu town, said the high demand for meat in Nairobi and other big towns had forced them to slaughter most of the animals brought to them at night.
He blamed the increased cases of stock theft on poor coordination between security officers and the Veterinary department.
“At the slaughterhouse, an inspector only checks the meat without even seeking to know the source of the animal one presents for slaughtering,” said Mr Mwangi.
The illegal trade, operated by a syndicate of cattle thieves and businessmen, aided by government officials, continues to deprive dairy farmers of their livelihoods and drive them to poverty.
“Nyandarua and Laikipia counties are among the backbone of the country’s beef industry, hence the reason there is an influx of meat transporting pick-ups. This is why we are becoming the target of criminals who supply stolen meat to Nairobi, Nakuru and other major towns,” said Mr Peter Maina, a dairy farmer in Gatumbiro, Nyandarua West.
Mr Maina attributed the rise in cattle rustling to the vice and the transportation of meat at night.
“Many livestock are slaughtered at night and this gives room for cattle rustlers to sell livestock. In some cases, donkeys are slaughtered too,” he said.
Nyandarua County Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo has accused meat inspectors of conspiring with criminals to propagate livestock theft in the county.
“Some even issue movement licences to allow animals to be transported at night. Others allow animals to be slaughtered at night, which is illegal,” said the county commissioner.
He regretted that the perennial stock theft had deprived families of their livelihoods, noting that the security officers were working round the clock to wipe out the vice.
“The proliferation of livestock theft in the county has left many families poor after their one cow, that was their only source of livelihood, is stolen,” lamented Mr Leparmorijo.
“Unscrupulous officers who inspect meat and give permits to transport meat and animals at night have hampered our efforts to combat the vice. No livestock or meat should be moved after 6pm,” he cautioned.
The county commissioner said the thieves have been stealing stock in the county and slaughtering them in unlicensed private slaughterhouses before selling the meat to consumers.
