Meatless Christmas for Kirinyaga self-help group after cow they saved up to feast on stolen

In the latest incident, 43 members of a self-help group were left high and dry after a cow they bought to feast on during Christmas was stolen.

Leads pointed them towards Kianyaga-Kiamutugu road , where they found what they believe to be remains of their slaughtered cow.

Speaking to Wananchi Reporting on Wednesday, Comba Thitha, the secretary of the self-help group, said, “We have been saving Ksh. 200 every month to buy the cow and we bought it at Ksh. 50,000 for our families to celebrate the new year but the cow has been stolen.”  

George Kunguru, the chairman of the group, said the group had been operating for last 10 years and they always buy a cow for end-of-year celebrations.

He said this is the first incident of theft since the self-help group was started.

“We started Gikingi self-help group in Ngiriambu village over 10 years ago but this time we won't celebrate as a cow worth Ksh. 50,000 has been stolen and slaughtered by unknown people,” Kungurtu said.

Pauline Wairimu, a group member, said  livestock thefts have become rampant and culprits employ aggressive methods during their mission.

“They conduct the theft during the night and slaughter the livestock near our homestead. We believe the people behind  the theft are insiders because it is strange how they knew exactly when we bought the cow and other details,” she said.

Thitha said the theft was reported at Kiamutugu police station and urged anyone with information about the culprits to come forward and help track them down.