Leaders from Garissa County have claimed that police officers were involved in last week’s killing of more than 100 camels in Tana River County.
The leaders led by the chairman of the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council, Dubat Amey condemned the incident saying the police officers were involved in the killing of the animals and several manyattas were also reportedly torched.
Amey said all the evidence points to security officers being involved in the killing of the animals of the pastoral community.
Amey demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of all officers involved in the act and further said all the families who lost their animals should be compensated at the current market price.
“The killings are heinous, barbaric and unacceptable in this time and era. The police officers abused their position of authority to engage in the act,” he said.
“God in His wisdom put all of us in this country. We have elders who can reconcile and bring peace between communities. There is no justification for killing our animals,” he added.
“We want to tell the police that livestock, and especially camels, are a national asset that cannot be played around with,” he said.
Amey however urged the two warring communities in the area to embrace dialogue saying this will enable them to air their grievances and come up with a memorandum of understanding on the way forward.