Suspected livestock thieves stole a cow from one of the residents in Soy Sambu village, Mawe Tatu sub-location in Likuyani sub-county and slaughtered it yesterday night before disappearing with the meat leaving behind the skin, head, legs and ribs at the scene.
According to the cow’s owner Ms. Judith Nelima, she woke up at 3:00 am to check on her cows and found them safe in their shed but she was shocked when one of her children woke up at 6:00 am and discovered that one of the dairy cows was missing.
Ms. Nelima who is a widow said on checking the shed she discovered that it had been broken in from the backside where the suspects used to get away with the cow.
With the help of neighbors, they launched a search for the cow before she received information from area assistant chief Mr. Wycliffe Masinde that there were remains of a cow abandoned in one of the residents’ farm in the neighboring Lugulu village.
On reaching the scene, she found the head, skin, ribs, legs and other parts which she could identify to be those of her missing cow.
She said this was not the first time for her cow to be stolen and slaughtered, adding that she witnessed a similar incident after another cow was stolen in March last year driven into the bush in the neighboring Muruli village where it was slaughtered and the suspects disappeared with its meat and also left the head, skin, ribs and legs at the scene.
Being a widow, she said she relied on proceedings from the sale of milk to help her take care of her family and with two of her cows having being stolen and slaughtered, life was going to be somehow difficult.
According to Mr. Mike Charles, he was headed to work in the morning when he spotted a strange object on Mr. Benson Omuse’s farm and upon moving closer he discovered they were remains of a cow before he informed the farm owner.
Residents have bitterly condemned the incident raising concern over rampant cases of livestock being stolen and slaughtered at night across the sub-county and appealed for security to be beefed up to curb such incidents.
