200 dead, 15,000 cattle stolen: Meru residents sue State

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Nine residents of Meru County have moved to court seeking to compel the government to take decisive action against banditry and compensate families that have lost relatives and livestock in attacks between 2023 and March 2026.

The petitioners, who include five widows from Tigania East, are seeking compensation of Sh15 million for bereaved families, Sh10 million for loss of property and Sh10 million for physical, psychological, and mental injuries sustained during the banditry attacks.

Celina Nkatha, Sabina Kayuyu, Isaac Ntarangwi, Marita Kaibiria, Sarah Kaithamaria, Kailikia Ndandu, Susan Kambura, Miriti M’Imanyara and Muthee Kiunga also want the courts to supervise a comprehensive security plan in areas hard hit by banditry.

According to the petition, the affected areas include Buuri East, Tigania East, Tigania West, Igembe North, Igembe Central and Mutuati.

“The bandits use automatic rifles, including AK-47s and G3 rifles, and operate in large groups of between 20 and 50 men, attacking villages under the cover of darkness, shooting indiscriminately, stealing livestock, and looting property. The attacks have particularly victimised children, youth, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, who are most vulnerable to displacement,” they told the court.

The residents say the bandit attacks have disrupted education, forced families to abandon their homes and farms and left communities living in constant fear.

Through their lawyer Eric Muriuki, they have sued the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, the National Security Council, the National Intelligence Service, the National Police Service, the Inspector General of Police, the National Assembly and the Attorney General.

Also listed as interested parties are: the county government of Meru, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), Amnesty International; Kenya, International Justice Mission, Katiba Institute, International Commission of Jurists and Kituo cha Sheria.

The petitioners argue that persistent bandit attacks have violated residents' rights to life, human dignity, security, freedom of movement, right to property, economic and social rights, right to reasonable working conditions, fair hearing and access to justice.

As a result, they have asked the court to find that the petition should be heard by a bench of at least three judges 'as it raises substantial questions of law affecting thousands of residents.'

They are also seeking conservatory orders directing the government to enhance security, deploy sufficient personnel and establish permanent police posts and patrols in the affected areas.

Besides recruiting police reservists, the petitioners want the government ordered to 'provide all reservists with adequate body armour, firearms, ammunition, communication equipment, and emergency medical evacuation.'

Further, they have petitioned the court to restrain the State from withdrawing or scaling down security operations in areas affected by banditry.

Besides, the nine Meru residents want the government to prepare a comprehensive security action plan and deposit it with the court within 30 days of judgment.

The security plan, they say, should "establish a victim compensation fund to compensate past and future victims of banditry in Meru County for loss of life, injury, and property loss."

"That the court directs the KNCHR to undertake a comprehensive investigation, documentation, and verification of all victims of banditry and cattle rustling in Meru County, particularly in Tigania East, Tigania West, Buuri, Igembe North, and Igembe Central sub-counties, including victims who have suffered loss of life, physical injuries, psychological trauma, displacement, and loss of property, and to develop and submit to this Honourable Court and to the relevant State organs a framework for compensation and reparations for all such victims," the petition states.

If their orders are granted, the petitioners want the government to present a progress report to the court every 90 days until the court is satisfied that adequate and effective measures have been put in place.

The petition cites the government for violating various laws, including the Prevention of Torture Act, the Preservation of Public Security Act, the Prevention of Organized Crimes Act, the Prevention of terrorism act, as well as international conventions and laws.

Mr Kiunga said the petition was advised by government inaction despite the loss of about 200 people and theft of 15,000 cattle across Meru County between October 2023 and March 2026.

"The State’s measures to address the banditry crisis have been ad hoc, reactive, and manifestly insufficient to meet the required constitutional standard of protection. While the State has occasionally announced security operations and deployments, these measures have repeatedly failed to prevent recurring attacks," Mr Kiunga, a lawyer, said.

The petition comes four months after the government officially gazetted parts of Meru, Laikipia and Isiolo counties as disturbed and dangerous, promising to deploy a multi-agency security team to thwart further criminal activities.

"We are told again and again that help is coming and the problem will be solved. Government officials, including the President, the deputy president, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, and the Inspector General of Police, have all promised to deal with the problem. But as soon as their plates take off, the attackers strike again," he lamented.

Ms Celina Nkatha, a widow, tearfully recounted how she lost her husband, a police reservist, to the bandits' bullets barely three years after her son was murdered by the attackers.

"My husband was a dedicated police reservist. On the fateful day, he was herding his cattle when the bandits invaded the grazing zone. He was shot dead and our 45 heads of cattle driven away. I was left to feed our nine children," she says.

The petitioners accuse the government of neglecting its duty of care by failing to protect National Police Reservists from bandits.

They also accuse the State of failing to investigate the deaths of their relatives, prosecute those responsible or recover stolen property.

The matter is set for mention on September 16, 2026, before Justice Dominic Rono.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.