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Kenya, 1 November 2026 - Leaders in Meru have criticised the government’s reported decision to compensate Samburu herders for cattle said to have been shot during a security operation. They want the same support extended to Meru families who have lost loved ones and livestock to banditry in the county’s northern grazing areas.
Akithi MCA and senatorial aspirant Mwenda Ithili asked why bereaved Meru families had received no comparable assistance.
“How about the victims in Meru who got killed and whose cows got stolen? The families are suffering. Why compensate Samburu and leave Meru? Let the government do something for our victims,” he said.
Ithili cited claims that over 300 people had died and more than 15,000 cattle had been stolen. He argued that Meru residents deserved the same treatment as other Kenyans affected by insecurity.
“Bandits can’t be considered better than the citizens who are obedient to the rule of law. Merus are not from a lesser God,” he said.
Herders and Peace chairman in Meru Charles Kamwibua said that over the past three years, bandits had killed 156 people and stolen more than 1,500 cattle from herders in the northern grazing zones.
He accused the government of treating communities unequally, noting that leaders from Samburu and Kajiado had successfully lobbied for compensation after hundreds of cattle were reportedly shot. The Samburu herders are due to receive about 400 cattle in total on 8 November.
Kamwibua also raised the problem of camels grazing on farmland in Nata, Naathu area of Igembe North, where they are destroying farmers’ maize and beans.
“My appeal is that we maintain peace, but what about our people who were left as widows and orphans? Some children have never returned to school after their breadwinners were brutally killed by cattle rustlers,” he said.
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He urged Meru leaders to speak up for the affected families and farmers, and asked the government to consider compensating those whose livestock was stolen in the raids.
Dr Bundi Karau said his community had suffered killings and cattle theft over the past three to four years, and that the government should also address Meru families’ losses. He questioned why the Samburu compensation had moved so quickly while relatives of those killed by bandits still had no comparable help.
“The speed at which Samburus have been compensated points to their strong leadership and advocacy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that because cows are innocent. But I would expect human lives to be compensated even faster. Pray, will these human lives be compensated?” he posed.
Karau recalled that the lower grazing areas were once safe, and that families relied on livestock to pay school fees. Persistent attacks have since made the areas dangerous. He asked whether the lack of equivalent support for Meru victims reflected a failure of leadership or advocacy.
“I remember my father buying cows during my primary school days and employing herdsmen to graze them in this expanse. That is how many of us went to school,” he said.
Meru County Director of Special Programmes Lena Kiambi also urged local leaders to step in and have livestock removed from farms.
“Meru people are hardworking and they don’t deserve this act,” Kiambi said.