Pastoralists in Turkana county have protested against a ruling by the High Court that lifted the ban on the slaughter of donkeys.
The donkey owners say the reopening the slaughterhouses is a threat to the animals they depend on for survival.
Walter Lochumi, a member of the Donkey Owners Association and resident of Loima sub-county, termed the ruling as a plague to donkey owners.
“We depend on donkeys for transportation but since the Silzah abattoir came to Turkana, many donkeys have been stolen and slaughtered, their meat and hides exported to China for traditional medicine and cosmetics,” Lochumi said.
“We don’t want slaughterhouses to be opened. A donkey is a very important animal in our community. When Silzah started to operate, we learnt that our donkeys were depreciating and we engaged the partners to push for the ban and the government welcomed our grievances.”
Maxmillah Akai said they are a pastoral community and they depend on donkeys for their movement and the reopening of the slaughterhouses is a blow to them.
“We use donkeys as means of transport when moving from one region to another. If the High Court can rule in favour of slaughterhouses to finish our donkeys, who is going to help us?” she posed.
Julius Ekalale said the Donkey Owners Association will appeal the decision.
“We depend on donkeys. There is no way we can allow the decision of the High Court for the reopening of the slaughterhouses,” he said.
The court lifted the ban on the slaughter of donkeys on Thursday after the state failed to respond to an application challenging the legal notice.
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