The Kenya Veterinary Board has raised the red flag over the sale of uninspected meat in informal settlements.
The board said Nairobi and Kiambu counties are the most affected with donkey and wildlife meat finding their way to tens of homes in the informal settlements.
This comes amid reports that donkey hide is being smuggled to China and the meat ferried to major Kenyan towns.
A spokesperson for the board Dr Benson Kibore said uninspected meat poses a major threat to the country’s food security.
Kibore said over 50 per cent of Nairobi residents live in the informal settlements where the uninspected meat finds its way to unsuspecting members of the public.
“A case of infected meat could kill tens of people and hence the move to up our game as we deal with all those involved in this illegal trade,” he said.
Speaking during a stakeholder’s workshop in Naivasha, Kibore said the situation has been worsened by fake permits for livestock production.
He said the permits were issued by quacks or retired veterinary officers, a move that was affecting the ongoing crackdown.
“We recently managed to rescue over 1,000 donkeys that had been ferried from Kajiado and were meant to be slaughtered in the Kedong area where there is an illegal slaughterhouse,” he said.
Kibore accused a powerful cartel of perpetrating cattle rustling with some government officers supporting the illegal trade.
Dr Allen Azegele from the Department of Livestock said informal settlements were the main markets for the uninspected meat.
He said the department was working with stakeholders and non-governmental organisations to fight illegal businesses that put the lives of Kenyans in danger.
“This initiative is meant to address the safety of livestock products as some traders are putting the lives of Kenyans in danger through the sale of the uninspected meat,” he said.
Earlier, Nairobi County Commissioner David Wanyonyi said the Rapid Result Initiative would work hard to stem the vice.
“Nairobi is the main market for donkey meat and we are working with other stakeholders to make sure that we end this illegal vice,” he said.