Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i has fired a stern warning to those engaging in cattle rustling in the North Rift.
Speaking on Friday at Embakasi in Nairobi, the tough-talking CS said that strong action will be taken by law enforcement officers on those perpetrating the vice.
Ruthlessness would inform the approach to tackle the long-running problem.
"Regardless of anyone's position, tumekubaliana IG that we are going to adopt a very ruthless approach to this thing so that we sort it out once and for all, " Dr Matiang'i fired in a YouTube video shared by KTN News. (Video 6:53-7:20)
"We can't be independent for 55 plus years and we are still talking about things that are fairly primitive like, you know, stealing animals from each other," he added
The CS rejected the notion peddled in some quarters that cattle rustling is culturally justified, calling it primitive and criminal.
Cattle rustling has seen communities in the North Rift raid each other for cattle, leading to fatalities in the process.
The government has been involved in an ongoing effort aimed at ridding the North Rift of the menace.
George Natembea, who assumed his new role as Rift Valley Regional Commander days ago, told members of the press that cattle rustling will be a major part of his focus.