70% of Nairobi and Nakuru meat from North Rift theft – Gov. Natembeya

Former Rift Valley Regional Commander, George Natembeya, has provided reasons surrounding the increase of banditry in the North Rift region. In an interview with NTV, Natembeya shared that the lack of enforcement of laws has contributed to the menace saying that corruption has been an enabler. Singling out the law that prohibits the transportation of cattle from 6 pm, Natembeya who is the current Trans Nzoia governor observed that the law is only good on paper. "If you go to Nairobi Dagoretti, all the cattle that are being slaughtered, they are being brought at night and there are police officers on the road. All these people who are buying these cattle have corrupted everyone. Even though you speak which language they will still transport the cattle at night," he said. Also read: Love gone wrong: Woman jumps to death over boyfriend’s call from another lady Further diving into the frustrations, Natembeya noted that his bosses ignoring important calls in time of need, budget constraints, complicit and underpaid security officials, and well-connected politicians funding the criminals are among the factors that turned the Kerio Valley belt into killing and cattle raiding fields. "2000 cattle have been stolen in broad daylight surely where have they gone too? Those cattle are being stolen during the day and when night comes they are transported to Nairobi." He added, "70 per cent of the meat that residents of Nakuru and Nairobi consume are from theft in the North Rift region. The bandits buy the cattle at Sh7,000 and when it gets to Nairobi it is sold at Sh100,000. When will these theft end if the one buying the cattle is a businessman who is willing to spend Sh10,000 and get a profit of Sh90,0000?" Having been fed up while serving as the Regional Commander and turning in his resignation letter, Natembeya said that he received Sh900,000 every three months, to take care of fuel, vehicles, and related logistics, which would run out within less than three weeks. "That budget could not fund an operation for instance. The will was there, but there was no support, people didn't pick up calls, so you are on your own," he said. Additionally, known politicians kept on supplying the criminals with weapons and ammunition, in the disguise of checking on their livestock. Also read: National Police Service adopts new set of uniform