An elderly and sickly widow from Nyandarua has pleaded for help after unknown people raided her farm on Tuesday and uprooted and slashed cabbages.
Beatrice Kamau of Micharage village in Mirangine lost more than 3,500 cabbages with an estimated value of Sh80,000. Two cabbage nurseries were also destroyed in the night attack.
Barely a week has passed since another farmer in Nyandarua woke up to find his four cows slashed.
For Kamau, it was difficult to know who destroyed the vegetables. She told the Star she has no known enemies and does not hold a grudge against anyone. She added that she is neither embroiled in any land dispute as the parcel was subdivided sometime back and every beneficiary given a title deed.
Kamau reported the matter to the village elder and area chief. She was also advised to lodge a complaint with the police at Mirangine station — which she did.
"But no action has been taken. Police have not even visited the scene,” she said.
Contacted for comment, Mirangine subcounty police commander John Matsili said he was not aware of the incident. He said it had not been reported. However, the family confirmed the matter was reported under OB number 23/28//9/20.
Kamau appealed to the government and well-wishers for help. She depends on the farm to provide for her family and meet her medical care needs. She suffered from tuberculosis in 1997 and the infection left her weak. She has since been experiencing frequent chest pains. She is also asthmatic.
Her son, Samson Mbatia, said on Tuesday night the dogs barked so much between 2am and 3am that he thought cattle rustlers had raided their home.
“I went out concerned that cattle thieves had raided our home but found the cows were safe in their shed. It did not occur to me that someone could be in the farm destroying cabbages,” Mbatia said.
This was not the first bizarre incident to happen at the home. Two months ago, someone dumped human faeces in a shopping bag at Kamau’s doorstep. Initially, they thought a dog had dragged the package to the place.
"But when it happened three times, we felt that someone, either dissatisfied or offended, was sending a message without coming out to say what the issue was,” he said.
Residents are worried because they don’t know where the culprit would strike next. Neighbours termed the incident abominable and urged the government to take the matter seriously and act with speed to find the culprits and establish the motive.
Joseph Njuguna said apart from uprooting the cabbages, it is difficult to tell what else could have been done as some were slashed. He said the cabbages could be unsafe for consumption. “Our fear is that whoever did it could do something even worse,” he said.
Peris Maina said such an evil act has never happened in the area before. "We shall also pray that God will rebuke them as nothing is impossible with Him,” she said.
Edited by F'Orieny