Law enforcement officers have dismantled a donkey slaughter syndicate in Makindu, Makueni County, that was allegedly supplying meat to unsuspecting customers in Nairobi.
Authorities say the operation uncovered an illegal network involved in the slaughter and distribution of donkey meat, raising serious public health and consumer protection concerns.
“In an intelligence-led operation, law enforcement officers from Makindu have dismantled a clandestine donkey slaughter syndicate that was moments away from feeding unsuspecting city dwellers “illegal steak”, arresting a couple that is behind the act in the process,” DCI said in a statement.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, detectives, acting on a tip-off, busted a group of suspects, who had turned a secluded homestead into a makeshift slaughterhouse, where donkeys were being butchered and taken to Kamboo area in Nairobi.
The multi-agency team comprising DCI detectives, Kenya Police Service Officers (KPS) and NGAO administrators found the suspects in the process of slaughtering donkeys under cover of darkness.
“Deep in the thickets, the air thick with the smell of death, the officers caught the suspects red-handed, busy skinning the beasts of burden,” DCI said.
The officers arrested two suspects, Grace Mutile, and Bonface Mutunga, believed to be the masterminds in the illegal business. Unidentified accomplices however managed to escape the scene.
DCI further reported that a total of 20 donkeys had already been slaughtered, and their carcasses strewn across the ground.
Authorities also impounded the vehicle believed to be slated to transport the meat to Nairobi.
The two suspects were taken into police custody for processing as they await to be arraigned in court. The Sub-County Veterinary and Public Health Officers are on-site to ensure the contaminated meat doesn’t find its way into the food chain.
