- The animals were returned to the farm at different times by people who told staff there they did not want to be cursed.
- The sheep were stolen by goons who raided the farm while armed with machetes and other crude weapons as a protest called by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition progressed on March 27, 2023.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
At least 50 out of the nearly 1,500 Dorper sheep that were stolen from former President Uhuru Kenyatta's family-owned Northlands farm have been returned.
The animals were returned to the farm at different times by people who told staff there they did not want to be cursed.
The sheep were stolen by goons who raided the farm while armed with machetes and other crude weapons as a protest called by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition progressed on March 27, 2023.
Officials at the farm said the first batch of 18 sheep was found in Dandora by police who reportedly received a tip-off from a caller.
The officers identified the sheep as belonging to the Northlands farm through the tags that remained on the animals.
The second batch of 30 sheep was returned in a truck with a concealed license plate and dropped at the gate of the Kenyatta family property on Tuesday. Another 2 were dropped near the farm along the Eastern bypass.
A manager at the farm confirmed the development and hoped to receive more.
“They are being returned by people who don’t want to be known,” said a manager who asked not to be named.
The raid on the former Head of State’s land happened almost simultaneously with an attack on opposition leader Raila Odinga’s gas company Spectre, leading to allegations of a coordinated plot targeting the two Azimio bosses.
Odinga, during a past address, accused President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua of being behind the attacks.
Police say they are still investigating the incidents.
Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome said they are investigating the attacks but no arrests have been made so far.
It later emerged the two raids were planned by a section of politicians in the city who ferried the attackers there in buses.
The attackers also set a section of grass on the farm.
Police officers who had been stationed there were mysteriously recalled to the Kiambu county offices as the attack took place.
A few private armed officers stationed there were ordered to retreat and guard the Peponi School and Brookside Milk Factory giving the attackers room to attack the sheep.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority said they are investigating the failure of police to provide security to the private.
The Authority noted and took up four matters for investigation, which will seek to establish the level of police compliance with Article 244 of the Constitution, the Public Order Act and any other laws related to public management and the use of force.
The matters under investigation include but are not limited to where police failed to provide security to private property in Nairobi.
The invasion took place in the daytime with no police on site to disperse them.
Some had come with lorries to ferry the sheep and goats stolen from the farm.
Another group went to Raila’s gas cylinder factory and stoned it before escaping.
No police were on site.
“The Authority strongly calls upon the police to abide by the law in exercising their constitutional function of protection of life and property in line with the National Police Service Act, Section 24 (d),” said Chairperson Anne Makori.
The authority usually conducts such a probe and sends the files to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions with various recommendations
On Tuesday, the interior Cabinet Secretary who had been missing from earlier meetings held between police commanders and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said there is a need to stop the chaos being witnessed.
“We must protect our Country from sliding into irretrievable anarchy,” he said in social media posts. Insiders said he was not happy with the manner in which some things were handled in the Monday protests.
Other sources said police had been instructed to stand down from responding to the sites.
This left the invaders with the freedom to attack and loot property at the Northlands Farm.