Police intercept donkey meat in Kitui as two arrested
Police in Lower Yatta, Kitui County, arrested two individuals and seized a vehicle after discovering donkey meat.
According to Joseph Ole Napeiyan, the Eastern regional police commander, the arrests occurred during a police operation at a residence in Katothya village, Lower Yatta subcounty, on an early Sunday morning.
The incident was reported to Kwavonza police station as the interception of donkey meat and the apprehension of suspects at 5:00 am.
“It was reported by an administrator that members of the public had sighted a group of unknown people slaughtering donkeys within Katothya village in the homestead of one Wambua Nzioka,” Napeiyan told the Star on Sunday.
Napeiyan stated that the police promptly responded to the scene, leading to the arrests and the recovery of evidence.
He noted that a few suspects evaded capture on foot, but the authorities successfully intercepted and arrested two individuals who tried to escape in a motor vehicle.
“Some of the suspects managed to escape on foot while others escaped before they were pelted with stones,” Napeiyan said.
According to Napeiyan, the operation involved collaboration between officers from Kwavonza police station and the DCI Lower Yatta subcounty.
The mentioned vehicle was intercepted by officers from the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit, who were stationed at a cess collection barrier along Kitui – Machakos Road.
“The same vehicle was escorted to the station with two suspects namely Paul Ngige, 39, and Ahmed Chege, 40 who were arrested with the suspected donkey meat,” Napeiyan said.
The police chief mentioned that the officers proceeded to the scene in Katothya, located in the Kanyonyoo area, where they discovered that the suspects had slaughtered twelve donkeys at Wambua’s homestead. Wambua is one of the suspects who managed to escape upon realizing they had been spotted by members of the public.
The crime scene was processed, and both the subcounty veterinarian and public health officers were notified to aid in the ongoing investigations at the time of the press release. Napeiyan explained that the donkeys were believed to have been brought to the location from an unknown origin on the previous Saturday.
To address the incident, DCI detectives attached to the Lower Yatta subcounty have initiated investigations into the matter.
