Kajiado residents have petitioned the Senate to intervene over the rampant livestock theft in the county.
In a petition presented to the House by Senator Samuel Seki, residents of Kajiado East and Kajiado West subcounties decried escalating incidents of livestock theft saying it has brought about emotional distress and insecurity.
They said the community has lost over 5,000 goats and sheep alone over six months.
“The total number of livestock lost could be higher since more residents do not report the cases to the police anymore as a result of low confidence in the security institutions,” the petition reads.
The petitioners lamented that cases of livestock theft have been rampant despite the presence of police apparatus and roadblocks across the affected areas within the county.
The petitioners want senators to investigate how the livestock is ferried past the heavy presence of police apparatus and roadblocks within Kajiado without any notice or arrests of the perpetrators and whether there could be a conspiracy to defeat justice.
They further want the Senate to initiate the formulation and passage of stringent legislation specifically targeting livestock thefts.
“These laws could encompass severe penalties for offenders, and enhance law enforcement measures and provisions for the establishment of specialised units to combat livestock thefts effectively,” they said.
The petitioners asked Senators to also investigate why there have not been any arrests and prosecutions of perpetrators of livestock thefts, especially since huge numbers of livestock are involved.
Speaker Amason Kingi committed the petition to the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations.