Detectives and public health officials in Juja, Witeithie, Kiambu County are investigating the discovery of 30 donkey heads and 120 legs in a thicket.
The products were delivered and dumped along Ndarugo Majahi road after the animals had been killed elsewhere.
It is not clear where those behind the slaughtering of the animals took the meat. Officials from the public health department and police said they are investigating the incident.
They added that an unscrupulous gang behind the incident could sell the meat to unsuspecting buyers and consumers in disguise as that of a cow.
The heads and legs were disposed of professionally. Officials said the incident was discovered on February 7 long after the meat had been dispatched to its intended destination. It is also not clear where those behind the dumping slaughtered the animals. Locals demanded a thorough probe to establish who was behind the incident and where the meat and body parts like skins from the donkeys and were taken.
Most of them are believed to have been stolen from homes and slaughtered at night.
Officials say such incidents are common in Limuru and Naivasha areas.
Donkey meat is not illegal in Kenya. Kenya’s population of donkeys is under threat after the High Court lifted a 2020 ban on donkey slaughterhouses, allowing them to resume selling the meat and hides to Asian markets.
Donkey slaughter was legalized in Kenya in 2012, leading to a rapid decimation of the animal population and cross-border theft.
Although Veterinary experts say donkey meat is safe for human consumption, its consumption is yet to gain ground in Kenya. Most Kenyans don’t consume donkey meat.
A report from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) showed that more than 4,000 donkeys were reported stolen over the period from April 2016 to December 2018.
