Over 300 illegal herders arrested in Laikipia County

Police have arrested more than 300 illegal grazers in Laikipia County following the brutal killing of a rancher on Sunday.

Interior cabinet secretary Joseph Nkaissery has also announced that the government is tracking down the financiers of the violence, which is believed to be politically instigated.

President kenyatta has this evening met security chiefs as the government seeks to end farm invasions that have persisted for more than four months.

A day after the death of Tristan Voorspuy, a dual Kenyan & British citizen who was shot by bandits as he assessed the damage after a lodge that was torched in his Sosian Ranch, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery has revealed that hundreds of illegal herders have been arrested.

“As I speak to you the police have already arrested 379 illegal grazers who are being processed in accordance to the law,” he said.

The man at the helm of the country’s security said police have now driven herders from 16 ranches, adding that he blames local leadership for the continued violence.

“Local political leaders have contributed to this tension by making inflammatory statements and sometimes even inciting headers to break the law,” he added.

Declining to name the leaders, Nkaissery stated that Voorspuy’s killers will be smoked out of their hideouts.

Early Monday morning, Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro led a team of detectives to the area where investigations into the fatal shooting have begun.

Witnesses say Voorspuy’s body remained at the scene of the shooting for nearly 20 hours, as workers could not venture into the bush to search for the body for fear of attacks. It was eventually retrieved Monday morning.

The region has become a haven for bandits and poachers with local conservancies and lodges registering huge losses as visitors keep away due to insecurity

“You will get 20 years in prison and a fine of Ksh20 million,” warned CS Judy Wakhungu.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has, however, assured tourists and players in the industry that their interests will be protected.

“I want to ensure our tourism partners that the government is on top of this, we’ve been having consultations and we will get to the bottom of it,” he said.

As the leaders spoke, the United Kingdom condemned the killing and clarified that it had not issued a travel advisory against Kenya. UK’s High Commissioner to Kenya Nick Hailey asked the government to beef up security in the volatile region.

The weekend killing of the rancher happened even before the dust settled on the shooting of Laikipia West OCPD Mbelengo Mohare as he led an operation to flush out bandits in February.

Mohare, who took a hit on the chest, is yet to resume duty. The inspector general has refuted claims that his chopper was shot at during his tour of the region on Saturday.