Drama as residents catch police officers slaughtering missing cow

Angry residents run away with police post when a skin and pieces of meat of cow that got missing was spotted in Kaptagat police station in Elgeyo Marakwet. Two police officers alleged to have stolen the animal were arrested. December 17, 2024. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Two police officers have been arrested and 30 others immediately transferred after a bull that went missing on Monday was found being slaughtered in their station.

The missing bull had allegedly wandered into Kaptagat Police Station on Monday evening but locals who were looking for it found the animal being slaughtered within the precincts of the police camp.

All the 30 police officers attached to the station including the officer commanding it, Jarion Gitonga, were transferred, their bosses announced late Tuesday afternoon. 

Kaptagat locals raised alarm at 11pm on Monday, resulting in a huge crowd gathering at the police station and stopping the suspects from fleeing the scene of slaughter.

Residents who were among the first to arrive at the scene of crime said two police officers managed to vanish into darkness.

With their two suspects at the scene, angry locals lit bonfires at the police station compound until morning hours when the suspected officers were arrested and locked up in the same facility.

The angry residents, majority of them youths, barricaded all roads leading to and out of the police station as well as Eldoret Eldama Ravine Road, paralyzing transport from morning until around 3pm.

A section of demonstrators uprooted Kaptagat Police Station’s signboard and used it as a placard during the protest.

By Tuesday afternoon, hours after the incident, the carcass of the stolen animal still lay next to the station's old OCS house.

Josephine Kandie, whose cow was slaughtered, lives about 300 metres away from the station.

"I had gone to Eldoret and upon return in the evening, I found that one of my two cows was missing. I enquired from neighbors and none of them saw it," Ms Kandie said at the scene.

She went on to say: "I assumed that the cow was still grazing in the neighboring Kaptagat forest. I was alerted late in the night that a cow was being slaughtered at the police station which is a stone throw away from my house. I rushed to the scene and discovered that my bull was being slaughtered. The skin and the head clearly showed it was my missing bull.”

She said she was shocked that her cow was slaughtered located a few metres from her home and which she thought would help her protect the valuable property.

While addressing police bosses, Kaptagat locals exposed ills and troubles that have soured relationships between officers at the station and villagers.

Locals claimed more than 17 cows that went missing while grazing in Kaptagat forest might have ended up being slaughtered at the station, after a puzzling discovery during their night-long stay at the well-protected area.

Just behind the section of the old residential house where Ms Kandie’s bull was slaughtered, a deep pit concealed as a septic tank was discovered.

In the pit, large quantities of paunch were discovered dumped in it. Some dry animal stomach contents were spotted on the lid.

“My two cows went missing two months ago and I suspect that they might have been slaughtered in the same style. When I reported at Kaptagat police station, the officers accused me of not taking good care of my cows,” Kaptagat resident Alex Kiprono told senior police officers who came to calm the storm.

Kiprono said several villagers had lost cows in Kaptagat but the police were allegedly not launching a thorough probe into the incidents.

He claimed that it was becoming difficult to stay at the nearby Chepkorio trading centre because of police harassment and arbitrary arrests.

A resident who spoke during the meeting said he had lost 16 bulls, which disappeared without a trace in recent years.

It emerged in the wake of the slaughter that cattle thieves in the area were part of a meat dealership racket with a ring in Eldoret and neighboring areas.

A livestock crush was also discovered adjacent to the station, raising eyebrows.

According to sources who spoke to The Standard, some police officers were allegedly involved as protectors of suspects or as owners of eateries in major towns.

“We see a car being driven into and out of the Kaptagat station during the night, at times frequently. We have asked ourselves what it comes to pick and who they drop. We want a thorough investigation done,” a resident said.

David Kiberenge said nearly 10,000 locals spent their nights at the police station, guarding the carcass and the scene from interference.

“The residents were angered by the act, but remained peaceful. They did not touch the police station because they love peace,” he said.

The arrested police officers are constables Chrispus Butali and Samwel Mbugua.

Acting Elgeyo Marakwet County Police Commander Patrick Njoroge said the suspects will be charged.

“We have done a cleanup of the station. All officers have been transferred with immediate effect. The OCS will leave the station immediately and other officers will be given a short time to proceed to their next stations,” Njoroge said.

The police boss said all reported complaints of stolen cattle will be investigated by the new OCS who is set to report to the station immediately.