Agriculture Cs Willy Bett holding a cheque when the government compensated 8 herders who lost their camels in Bura Constituency. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
8 herders in Bura constituency whose 126 camels killed by suspected police officers in May this year have been compensated.
Several other camels were injured in Kalaba and Bisahnargeisa during the incident.Police who killed the camels were patrolling along the disputed border of Tana River and Kitui counties. The government on Tuesday paid the 8 families Sh70,000 per camel. Mohamed Abdi lost 70 camels received Sh4.4 million while Ibrahim Taqal whose 40 camels died was paid Sh2.9 million."I am happy that the government has compensated us. I can now use the money to buy other animals", said Abdi.He urged the government to ensure killers of their animals are prosecuted to serve as an example to other officers."Nobody is above the law. The government should ensure the killers are jailed to send a warning to rogue officers", he added.Agriculture Cs Willy Bett said the government is committed to helping herders who lost animals saying Sh1.4 billion was used when drought hit the region.