Police to deploy drones to combat cattle rustling

KITUI, Kenya, Oct 31 – With the war on crime becoming more sophisticated, Kenya’s security agencies are planning to adopt the use to technology, in tackling some of the security challenges.

A case at hand is cattle rustling, once a cultural activity, but now criminal, where guns are used and often, the country has lost tens of police officers and civilians to the war.

According to Eastern Regional police boss Noah Mwivanda, a plan to equip security agencies in the area with drones is in the offing, among other modern gadgets.

The areas of focus, he said on Saturday, will be at the border of the vast Tana River and Kitui county which have been plagued by constant flare-up of hostilities and violence.

For decades, parts of the vast Eastern region have long been considered uncharted territory with subsequent governments since independence neglecting the area.

This has in return led to breeding and manifestation of lawlessness synonymous with that of the ‘shifta era’.

Despite the onset of devolution and police reforms that have seen the once isolated regions become part of the security grid as it were, some counties are still grappling with vices such as cattle rustling that has resulted in the loss of livestock, destruction of property and even death.

In a bid to restore sanity in the area, a technological wave of change is expected to be witnessed with police along the common border of Kitui and Tana River set to be equipped with modern gadgets that will assist them in policing, identifying crime patterns and averting criminal activities before they even happen.

“The age of killing people and stealing property by hostile individuals in nomadic communities must come to an end,” he said.

Mwivanda who officially opened a resource center on Saturday, at the Nguutani police station in Kitui, said residents of the common border of Kitui, Tana River and even Garissa must peacefully co-exist.

“The constant security breach in the common border is distressing however moving forward, we will start using drones to patrol the border and even track how cattle rustlers are manoeuvring their way in and out of those counties and causing havoc,” Mwivanda said.

In recent years, civilians and even police officers have lost their lives at the hands of rogue individuals operating with impunity, stealing thousands of livestock, brandishing machetes bow and arrows and some even using illegal firearms.

Communities in the region have long been engaged in hostilities, fighting over grazing turf and water which is their source of livelihood.

“The communities must continue to engage in meaningful dialogue and learn how to co-exist. We however encourage them to involve local leadership and even law enforcement to combat and address some of these issues that threaten their security. ” reaffirmed Mwivanda.

Once officers are trained, they will use the drones to map out the region, engage and pursue suspected cattle rustlers, aid in investigations, search and rescuce operations, and even assist police navigate the difficult terrain.