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| Africa Horn |
| Cattle raiders kill seven in Turkana |
| 2010-08-18 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] Seven people were killed by cattle rustlers yesterday in a village in Turkana. The attack was carried out by several hundred men from Pokot who attacked 26 villages while armed with AK-47 rifles. The raiders were in a group of five, each with about 100 raiders. "Many cows, camels, sheep and goats were stolen," area peace committee chairman Nicholas Nikor said by phone. The area is so remote and the terrain so rugged "if I were to go there by road it would two days. The fastest means is by helicopter," Mr Nikor said. The Area District Commissioner Elmi Shafi had flown to the area. Meanwhile, livestock in the rustling-prone areas of Upper Rift and North-Eastern regions will be branded for ease identification, says the Internal Security and Provincial administration permanent secretary. Mr Francis Kimemia said in Mombasa this would make it easy to identify stolen cattle in Kenya's frontier areas of Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. The branding had been agreed by the pastoralists. Each community would have it's own brand type which will be gazetted. Youths engaged in rustling would also be rehabilitated and money had been set aside for this. "Without engaging such youths with something to do they will continue cattle rustling," he said during a meeting of provincial commissioners. The vast Turkana, Pokot, North Eastern and South Rift regions have contributed to the spread of illegal arms, kidnapping, drug peddling and human trafficking. More than 3,000 firearms and 30,000 ammunitions have been recovered in the past six months. Asked why the provincial commissioners were meeting in Mombasa, Mr Kimemia said: "We are discussing how the provincial administration will fit in the proposed county governments." |
| Posted by:Fred |