Police Recover 70 Cattle Stolen by Bandits in Laikipia

The multi-agency security team in Laikipia has recovered 70 cattle that had been stolen by bandits in Magadi location in Laikipia.

In a statement on Tuesday, the National Police Service (NPS) said that the cattle were stolen on Sunday when the bandits raided a man identified as Peter Lokoponyo’s home.

Area Chief reported the matter to the security team on the ground that quickly followed the bandits who were headed towards Nagum area.

The bandits engaged the security officers in a shootout before the police over powered them, recovering the stolen livestock.

“On the night of 3rd October, 2021 at 0020 hours within Magadi location in Laikipia County, the area Chief reported that an unknown number of bandits had raided the homestead of one Peter Lokoponyo. The bandits managed to get away with 70 heads of cattle and drove them towards Nagum area. A contingent of security personnel rushed to the scene, caught up with the bandits and a fierce exchange of fire ensued. Our forces prevailed. All the stolen stock were recovered and handed over to the owner,” said the NPS.

The incident comes amid an ongoing security operation to root bandits from the ranches in Laikipia.

Early September, the government deployed a multi-agency team comprising of the National Police Reservists, the Rapid Deployment Unit, the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, the General Service Unit (GSU) and the Administration Police, to weed out the bandits from the area.