Kitui East Member of Parliament (MP) Nimrod Mbai has issued a five-day ultimatum to Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee Aden Duale to get his camels out of Kitui county.
Mbai says it has been a norm for the Duale’s camel herders to kill Kitui people in cold blood as witnessed with the recent killing of a Mutuku who was murdered on Saturday, October 15, 2022.
“He has five days to get his camels out of Kitui. We don’t care if Duale is the defence minister or Putin,” Mbai said
Mbai has threatened that if Duale doesn’t take action they will drive away all the camels.
“We shall flash out the camels from our land and confiscate them in police stations until their rich owners show up,” Mbai said.
Duale’s 231 camels
Mbai’s ultimatum comes after the Defence CS nominee confessed that he has 231 camels in Kitui county.
Duale revealed his camels were in Kitui while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on appointments for his vetting as Defence CS nominee.
He told the parliamentary vetting panel that his net worth was Ksh851 million, having valued his 231 camels in Kitui county.
Conflict
Carmel herders from Garissa and other counties often clash with locals in Kitui county.
In Mid September, two men were attacked with machetes by the camel herders in Tseikuru in Mwingi North following a conflict over grazing land and watering points.
In late August, a 15-year-old boy was hacked to death by the said herders in Kalambani Kitui South.
To the residents, the camel invasion menace in the area has been a persistent problem for years leading to perennial loss of lives and harvests.
