This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
Published on July 25, 2019, a bizarre trend has been reported in Kinangop, Nyandarua County, where livestock thieves have shifted from stealing cows to milking them at night.
The affected area is Sariti village, where the thieves invade homesteads and milk cows in the wee hours, shortly before the owners wake up for early morning milking sessions.
Ms Elizabeth Wambui, 78, a victim, has reported that six of her neighbors have similarly complained of reduced milk production in the mornings, an hour the dairy cows are expected to produce double or more of milk produced in the evenings.
Ms Wambui explained that she now milks three kilos every evening while she used to milk between five and seven kilos in the morning, which has now reduced to less than a kilo in the morning.
She attributed the sudden change to the milk thieves who smear the cows' udder with dung after milking them.
Ms Rahab Wangui, a neighbor, made the discovery when she heard some movement outside the house and saw a man busy milking her cow at 3am.
Ms Wangui and her family silently walked to the milking area and caught the thief, who managed to escape in the confusion.
