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Fourteen people including 12 youths and two middle-aged men have been profiled by villagers in various areas within Isinya Sub-county in Kajiado County on suspicion of being involved in livestock theft.

The 14 natives are suspected to be masterminds of rampant livestock theft in the region and are believed to be closely working with the theft cartel to aid them with information and facilitate them in the process of stealing.

In a stormy meeting held at Olchani Loo Muran that brought together villagers from Sholinke, Oloosirkon, Enkamuriaki, Kisaju, Olorukoti, Nkurunka Olooloitikoshi and Birika, elders publicly named the suspects. Only one was in attendance at the natives security meeting.

The elders instead scheduled another meeting sending an emissary to other suspects to appear before the elders to set the record clear.

Elders said the suspects will be required to publicly declare if they have any involvement in the livestock theft syndicate.

The process of declaration entails confessions and those who are guilty but deny their involvement will be cursed by the elders as a consequence.

Ordinarily, the curse will lead to misfortune or death of the guilty persons who fail to acknowledge their shortcomings.

If one is innocent then the curse bestowed to them will not have any consequences on them.

Those who are guilty and accept to have colluded with the cartels will make a declaration never to betray the community for their selfish interests and name the outsiders they have been working with.

“We have taken livestock matters into our own hands, not by killing but by surrendering thieves to authorities. We have established that we have enemies within us and they will help us unravel the worrying theft,” said an insider.

The elders further said it is not business as usual and anybody in the profile list who have faced community disciplinary action will be handed over to security apparatus for prosecution.

However, the elders condemned the heinous act that saw some four men murdered on suspicion of being livestock thieves.

They instead warned community members to be handing over any suspect to the concerned authorities.

This happens even as community members still maintain they suspect the involvement of police officers in the theft syndicate. They say livestock theft is conducted at night and that the stolen sheep and goat are ferried using lorries during curfew hours.

Natives have been questioning how the thieves manage to make away with livestock using vehicles in the wee hours of the night despite curfew in place.

A worrying trend of dog poisoning in the target villages has been on the rise giving locals sleepless nights.

The effort by the county government of Kajiado to curb the menace by banning the transportation of animals have not yielded any fruits.