Samburu Senator Steve Lelegwe. File Photo. 
By Ben Okweingoti
Samburu Senator Steve Lelegwe and Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku have demanded investigations and accountability following a controversial security operation in Samburu County in which hundreds of livestock were reportedly killed.
The senators are calling for action after 415 goats and 102 cattle were reportedly gunned down during a security operation in the area, with concerns also raised over residents who were injured.
Speaking in Malindi, Kilifi County, Lelegwe accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja of presiding over a security operation that had adversely affected pastoralist communities and their livelihoods.
Lelegwe demanded investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the livestock and disciplinary action against officers found culpable.
He said efforts to combat banditry should target criminals rather than innocent residents and their sources of livelihood.
“The animals that have been killed are our people’s livelihood and we demand full compensation from the government and all those who were injured to be treated at government cost. We also demand the immediate sacking of officers involved to be punished,” Lelegwe said.
The senator’s demands come amid heightened government security operations targeting banditry and livestock theft in parts of northern Kenya. The government has previously said such operations are intended to flush out armed criminals blamed for attacks and livestock raids.
Lelegwe said the loss of livestock was particularly devastating to pastoralist families, who depend on cattle and goats for food, education, medical expenses and household income.
Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku, meanwhile, accused elected leaders from Samburu of remaining silent over what he described as the destruction of their constituents’ livelihoods.
“It is very disturbing that the same government that elected leaders in Samburu are supporting, is the same government that is terrorizing and killing their people yet they remain quiet as if the lives lost and animals killed are nothing to them,” Lenku said.
Lenku further pledged to mobilise Maasai and Samburu communities ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying he would urge residents to reconsider their support for President William Ruto’s administration over the alleged treatment of their communities.
“I will personally campaign in Maasai and Samburu land to sensitise our people against the government of President William Ruto and ensure that they don’t vote for him in 2027 for killing our people and livelihoods,” he said.
The latest demands come against a backdrop of longstanding insecurity and livestock theft in Samburu. Parliament has previously documented significant losses of lives and livestock linked to cattle rustling in the county, highlighting the longstanding security challenges facing pastoralist communities.
The senators are now calling for the circumstances surrounding the reported livestock deaths to be established and for affected families to receive appropriate assistance.
