Implications of Livestock Rustling Enterprise on Families in Nyakach and Sigowet Sub Counties, Western Kenya

Traditionally, theft of livestock was practiced by some communities for purposes of restocking or a sign of maturity for admission to a particular masculine category. However, the contemporary livestock rustling is emerging as an entrepreneurial criminal activity that is fully organized and whose real beneficiaries are business people who pick stolen stock, transport it to major towns for profit making purely as an enterprise. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics and strategies used by livestock rustling enterprises and the social and economic effects the crime has on families living in Nyakach and Sigowet sub-counties in Western Kenya. Interviews were conducted with 15 offenders (ex-convicts), 8 documented cases were analysed and additional interviews conducted with village elders from both areas. Semi structured questionnaire was administered on a sample of 385 victims. Routine Activities Theory which postulates existence of intersection or meeting up of a motivated offender with an attractive target under conditions that the offender perceives as opportunistic guided the study. The findings of this study revealed that livestock theft perpetrators come from diverse backgrounds regarding age, qualification, status and socio-economic class. Their crimes were of an organised syndicate comprising local youths, police, transporters and urban meat traders alongside public health officers. Livestock theft in this area has resulted into inter-ethnic clashes leading to injuries and deaths, as well as closure of schools and markets on the border. Economically, destruction of property was rampant, while victims of livestock theft lose their source of livelihood in terms of milk and ghee, beef and other livestock products. The study recommends that the government should strictly monitor sources of meat sold by butcheries, have measures to protect social places like schools and open-air markets from invaders and provide indemnities for financial losses arising from conflicts occasioned by cattle rustling.