State orders another security operation in cattle rustling prone counties

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen addresses the press at Harambee House Nairobi, on June 26, 2025. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

In a bid to stop banditry and cattle rustling incidents in Meru, Isiolo, Laikipia, and Samburu counties, a multi-agency team has been constituted to pursue the perpetrators.

In a statement, the National Police Service yesterday said the multi-agency operation will target hideouts for the criminals operating in the four counties. 

"An elaborate multi-agency security operation has been assembled with sole and firm mandate of recovering stolen cattle, mopping up of all illegal firearms and ammunition," said Spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga in the statement. 

According to Nyaga, they will go for the criminals involved, their financiers, as they seek to restore normalcy in affected areas.

"Cattle have been stolen, several lives have been lost, and injuries have been reported. This is totally unacceptable and must be eradicated," he said. 

Hard hit areas are in parts of Meru and estates surrounding Isiolo town, where at least four people have been killed and an unknown number of livestock stolen on the nights of Thursday and Friday in the latest wave of attacks.

Affected sub-counties in Meru, where locals claim to have lost thousands of livestock, mainly cattle, to armed robbers from Isiolo, Samburu East, and Laikipia in the past year alone, are Tigania East, Tigania West, Igembe Central, Igembe South, and Mutuati.

On Thursday night, armed men attacked centres in Tigania East in Meru that borders Isiolo town. Two people were reported killed, and dozens of cattle were driven away by the rustlers. Some of the animals were recovered by the police and the Kenya Police Reservists.

On Friday night, a settlement in Kambi Juu, on the outskirts of Isiolo town, was raided, and two people were gunned down before 26 head of cattle were stolen.

 The focus of the operation will be Mukogodo Forest in Laikipia, Lerata and Sereolipi in Samburu East, and Kipsing and Ngaremara in Isiolo.

The latest move by the police comes a few weeks after Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen announced the commencement of a similar exercise that failed to start.

On February 3, Murkomen, who met top County and Regional security teams from the affected areas in Isiolo town, said a multi-agency security team that would also include the army and rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service would undertake the exercise.

He revealed that it would be a targeted operation that will take place simultaneously across the four counties, adding that the operation will be massive and painful until the objectives are achieved.

Yesterday, a section of Isiolo leaders asked the State to explain what happened to the operation that was ordered by CS Murkomen, claiming the insecurity situation in Isiolo and Meru had been politicised.

"He (Murkomen) promised us that the operation he ordered would address insecurity in this region. We don't know what that exercise achieved and how they (security personnel) vanished," said former Bulapesa MCA Moses Kithinji. 

While the short-lived operation was going on, the leaders, who included Wabera Ward MCA Selasio Kiambi and five people, including two National Police Reservists and a deputy Principal of Leparua Secondary School, William Maingi Gatobu, were shot dead by rustlers on the outskirts of Isiolo town.

Four other reservists sustained gunshot wounds and were admitted to Isiolo County Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The operation had recovered around 50 rifles, mostly voluntarily surrendered, while over 3,000 stolen livestock, mainly goats and sheep, were recovered from suspects.

According to Kithinji, hideouts of the bandits are known to the security teams, and the government should stop mixing politics with security matters that continue to cause havoc in Isiolo and Meru.

"The State told us there are hundreds of illegal firearms in Isiolo alone, and they know those who are armed. Ahead of the 2027 elections, politics is influencing this administration of President William Ruto. We demand that action be taken at once," said Kithinji. 

On his part, Kiambi said livestock traders in Isiolo had lost hundreds of livestock to rustlers who act with impunity, adding that the local security committee could no longer take charge of their work due to alleged political interference from Nairobi.