Trans-Nzoia governor George Natembeya has claimed that Nairobians are funding bandits in the North-Rift region by eating meat from cows stolen by the rustlers.
According to Governor Natembeya, the animals stolen by bandits are transported to Nairobi slaughterhouses, such as the one in Dagoretti, and end up as sources for local markets.
Speaking during a joint media interview on Monday, the former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner revealed that he discovered this while serving as the Rift Valley Regional Commander (RC) for three years.
He went on to say that there is a “cartel” behind the livestock transport and that all police officers stationed at various roadblocks have been compromised by bribes.
“These animals are eaten by the good people of Nairobi, you are funding bandits in the Rift Valley and this is a statement of fact I am not speculating because if 1,000 animals are stolen and taken to the Laikipia Nature Conservancy for instance but somehow they disappear in thin air,” he said.
“We even gave instructions that no animals should be transported after 6 pm and we instructed our police officers to man all the roadblocks from Baringo to Nairobi but these cartels know who is on the roadblock. They carry money and compromise everybody,” he added.
“You try to go to Dagoretti slaughterhouse and try to look for the horns of the animals slaughtered there you will not find any because people identify their cows with their horns. You will not find anything including the skin.”
The first-term governor claimed that they could not be effective because the troops were disenchanted, noting that even access to basic needs was not possible.
“But how do you expect us to succeed we don’t have vehicles, or fuel, officers are completely demoralized. The salaries they are paid is the same traffic officers are paid,” he said.
“There is no food, officers are given food, it is procured centrally in Nairobi. You buy cabbages in Molo it is taken to the headquarters Gilgil then transported to Kapedo yet you can get cabbaged in Baringo. But there is somebody with invested interest procuring these cabbages. By the time the cabbages arrive in Kapedo they are rotten.”
Nonetheless, Natembeya stated that the frustrating working conditions prompted him to leave the security administration and get into politics.
