This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Published on September 29, 2019, a Chinese company operating a donkey abattoir in Lodwar, Turkana County has been put under scrutiny for allegedly selling uninspected donkey meat and frustrating workers.
Located at Napetet in Turkana Central, five kilometers from Lodwar town, Silzha Company Limited is run by two Chinese nationals. The firm slaughters an average of 30 donkeys daily and exports the donkey meat to China and other countries.
Field Manager Mohammed Katembo expressed the workers' concerns, stating, "It is more than one year and some of us have not been paid. I don't have any source of money. We have been patient for a long time to the extent the walls of trust have started cracking."
Production Supervisor Lucas Ereman also lamented the situation, saying, "Life is becoming hard here because we work with no pay, my family depends on me, my children are at home because of school fees, we are tired of empty promises each and every time."
Residents are calling on the government to investigate the company to ascertain if safety measures are implemented. Joseph Emuria, a resident, warned, "We are giving government investigative agencies one week to ensure that this Chinese company is investigated and health measures put in place to guarantee the safety of meat and food handling, failure to which we will hold demonstrations."
Emuria also alleged that the slaughterhouse has led to the theft of donkeys across the county as unscrupulous people rush to supply animals to the fast-growing abattoir.
Area Chief Patrick Lorogoi raised concern over increasing cases of donkey theft in the area, stating, "We suspect that the Chinese are buying stolen donkeys unknowingly. We have established that they don’t ask for livestock movement permits, but that is a matter under investigation."
The Chinese nationals managing the abattoir, Liu Wenchen and Jiang Baogui, denied the claims, saying they export quality donkey meat.
