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"content": "with that; we are pastoralists. Sometimes when you want to stress a point, you go straight, walk around and use your hands to communicate. This issue of cattle rustling is not new in this country. I remember during the era of President Moi, there were leaders who were sent to jail, and one of them was hon. Lotodo, because of supporting this issue. Because of what is happening in this country, corruption and unemployment, the youth who are just running around, cattle rustling is an easy way to earn money. I think we need to address this matter carefully and find lasting solutions. As Sen. Haji said here, we will keep talking about it and nothing will happen. This issue is affecting the Maasai’s in Samburu, the Turkana’s and the Maasai’s in Narok every single day. The reason for this is that there are so many people with guns. If you go back to the Kenya Police Report of 2015, that report indicated that there were more than 500,000 small ammunitions which were brought illegally into the country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, last year, I witnessed the Deputy President when he oversaw the destruction of about 5,250 small arms and other ammunitions. If we cannot find lasting solutions to youth unemployment, then even if I was a youth out there, I would go out there and get a gun so that I can earn a living. So, let us not kid ourselves. Cattle rustling is brought about by unemployment, illiteracy in our counties and we must address those issues. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we need to talk about solutions. When I was growing up as a young Maasai Boy, we all used to steal cows. It is not new, but we never used to steal cows from our neighbours. It was a way of showing that you have a lot of wealth. What is happening now is that because everyone is seeking pastures, we have no water in our counties. If you go to North Eastern, Turkana, Samburu, there is no water. In order for us to feed our cows, we will continue. We will carry our guns, protect our animals and as we go, we will get ideas. Mr. Speaker, Sir, last year, I sought a Statement demanding answers as to why the Maasais in Laikipia were attacked by the police and their cows were killed. There was an issue of inter-tribal conflict. This was all in the same realm of cattle rustling. When we do not pay our police well or take care of their wellbeing, they will be tempted to find other ways of making money. At that time, the people on the ground were blaming the police. In his Statement, the Senator for Turkana said that the police were using military tankers and they seemed to have been only targeting a particular community. I hope that the security team and also the Government will take action to ensure that we find lasting solutions. It is very simple. If we say we are taking away all illegal guns from people, let us not target one community. If it is in Narok, let us take them from the Maasais and the Kalenjins. You cannot take guns from one community, leave the other community with guns and think people will live well. If it is in Turkana, we should take the guns from the Turkana and also from the Samburu and Laikipia Maasais. We all have guns. If you go the border towns like Baringo, you will find young men carrying guns with their cows. In the past, they would walk with their cows while looking for water. I am happy because earlier on today, I saw that there was a task force which was giving water to pastoralist communities. Let us make sure that we talk about that and we The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}