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Nation

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Nation

Are Kenya’s cows stressed? Expert explains milk shortage, gives tips for detecting adulteration

A dairy farmer, Agnes Wangari Wanyaga, milking a cow at her Giachumi home in Githunguri, Kiambu County on August 4, 2026.Due to the reduction of packed milk countrywide as a result of drought, fears are rife that unscrupulous traders are seeking to plug the gap by adulterating the product to increase volumes.On Thursday, the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) warned traders against lacing milk with water, chemicals or other substances, urging consumers not to buy unpasteurised milk from unregulated traders.KDB Chairman Genesio Mugo said those caught selling adulterated milk would face the law. Kenya’s Dairy Produce Safety Regulations define adulteration as adding or subtracting a substance so that milk’s natural composition and quality are negatively affected.The guidelines prohibit selling adulterated or misbranded dairy produce. Offenders face a fine of up to Sh10,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.Mr Alex Gathii Gitonga, founder and managing director of Tanolope Consultancy Limited, a firm that targets improving dairy farming in Kenya and other African countries, said adulteration entails changing milk’s natural composition.“When you adulterate milk, it will behave in funny ways. It will change the boiling point, it will change the colour, it will change the way it tastes,” said Mr Gitonga, adding that consumers may notice an unusual smell, colour, taste or thickness. Milk containing peroxide, he said, may taste unusually acidic or produce a burning sensation. Unscrupulous traders add hydrogen peroxide to prolong milk’s shelf life.Amid the adulteration conversation, Mr Gitonga said the current milk shortage opens a window into the problems plaguing Kenya’s livestock sector.State Department for Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke (centre) with Kenya Dairy Board Chairman Genesio Mugo (left) and Kenya Dairy Processors Association (KDPA) Chairman Kenneth Gitonga address journalists on the current milk supply situation in the country at Kilimo House, Nairobi, on September 3, 2026.According to KDB, formal deliveries to processors fell from 88.89 million litres in May to 84.44 million litres in June, and June’s intake was 6.4 per cent below the same month of 2025. In July, processors received 84.4 million litres in June to 81.3 million litres, a 3.7 per cent decline, and preliminary August figures pointed to a further fall.KDB has attributed the “temporary” constraints mainly to dry and cold conditions in key milk-producing areas.But for Mr Gitonga, the drought is only the most visible part of a deeper production problem. Many cows, he told Nation, are short of protein, energy and quality minerals, while poor agronomy and late harvesting leave fodder fibrous and less nutritious. At the same time, farmers pay more for commercial feed whose quality can be uneven.“The cows are supposed to be lying down between 14 to 16 hours. There is poor cow comfort. The Kenyan cow is stressed, actually,” Mr Gitonga said in an interview on Friday. “There’s heat stress, there’s water stress, there’s social stress.” He estimated heat stress can cut milk output by 10 to 15 per cent and urged farmers to provide each cow with 100 to 150 litres of clean water a day, shade, ventilation, comfortable resting space and consistent rations.“Milk production is not a matter of performing miracles. It is feeding. It is the feeding system. It is management,” he said, cautioning against buying high-yield genetics before fixing basic husbandry. Kenya already has enough cows, he argued, but average output remains low because farms do not measure feed costs, growth, conception and daily yield.“Even when there is bumper fodder, still our milk processing plants are operating below 50 percent,” Mr Gitonga argued. “Our installed capacity is under-utilised because nobody is investing in the milk production due to lack of fodder plans.”KDB’s dairy profile estimates national production at 5.2 billion litres a year, with average yields of only seven to nine litres per cow per day. It says about 1.8 million smallholder households depend on dairy and that licensed processing capacity is about 3.75 million litres a day.Mr Caleb Korir, Tanolope’s business development manager, said feed planning should begin with a full-year calculation of what a herd will need.“When farmers lack that business planning in terms of the projection and say, ‘This year I need these tonnes of feeds and minerals to be able to take care of my cows for the entire year,’ then once the drought hits, you won’t be able to sustain your farm,” he said.The board also urged consumers not to buy unpasteurised milk from unregulated traders.Mr Gitonga recommend properly timed fodder harvesting, silage and hay conservation, and fodder merchants who can supply cooperatives throughout the year.Even if rain began immediately, he said, pasture would need another month or two to recover. The official October-December 2026 outlook projects above-average rain across most principal dairy counties, including Kiambu, Kericho, Nakuru, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Uasin Gishu and Nandi.

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Nation

Inside sleuth operation that nabbed Victoria Mutiso murder suspects in Uganda

From right: Police Constable Collins Kiplangat Bett, Pius Muiru Mbugua and Samuel Karanja Gathoni in court. They are suspects in the fatal shooting that led to the death of Dr Victoria Mutiso. It has emerged that an intelligence-led operation, with support from Interpol, led authorities to the Kamapala hideout of three men suspected of involvement in the brazen murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso in Nairobi.The trio suspected of being part of the gang that killed the clinical psychiatrist 35 days ago was presented before a Milimani court on Wednesday after being deported from Uganda, where they had reportedly gone into hiding.Slain clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.Police Constable Collins Kiplangat Bett, Pius Muiru Mbugua alias Headboy, and Samuel Karanja Gathoni alias Wakili will be held in custody for 30 days after the court allowed police time to conclude investigations into their roles in the gruesome murder.From right: Police Constable Collins Kiplangat Bett, Pius Muiru Mbugua and Samuel Karanja Gathoni in court. They are suspects in the fatal shooting that led to the death of Dr Victoria Mutiso. The court was told that Gathoni was identified as the driver of a motor vehicle, KDE 400W, a black Toyota Prado which was trailing Dr Mutiso before the taxi she had boarded was blocked by another Toyota Prado, KDH 600A, before she was fatally shot.He was identified via CCTV footage, lead investigator Corporal Romana Oduor told the court.He also told the court that the suspects had trailed Dr Mutiso for some time before pouncing on the fateful day. Gathoni, who alleged he was a law student at a local university, was traced to his Lang'ata residence where they first observed his movements. Detectives noted that he had been shuffling between Nairobi and Kampala after the death of Dr Mutiso. It was suspected that his accomplices were hiding out in the neighbouring country.As he crossed the border, detectives kept a close eye on him and his movements. Upon return to Nairobi, police say they nabbed him in the city. He then led authorities to Uganda where the other two were arrested. After their capture, Uganda’s Foreign Affairs ministry processed an extradition request from its Nairobi counterpart.The court heard that the three were initially presented before the Chief Magistrate of Buganda Road Court at City Hall on August 31, 2026, before being handed over to Interpol in Kampala, who then handed them over to Kenyan police at the Malaba border on September 1, 2026.According to police, the intelligence-led operation had led them to their hideout in Kyanja Heights Flats, Nakawa suburb in Kampala, Uganda.In her ruling, the magistrate said the prosecution had established that the suspects were a flight risk, as they had allegedly fled Kenya after the murder of Dr Mutiso."This court finds that there are compelling reasons to warrant the detention of the three for 30 days in police custody," the court ruled.She ordered that the three be remanded at Kasarani, Kileleshwa and Kilimani police stations, respectively.The three were brought to court seven days after Rose Mbithe Mulwa, alias Rose Mbithe Ndetei, her children Chris and Angela Mulwa (both advocates), and police officer Elijah Kibellion Kimoi were taken before the High Court over the murder of Dr Mutiso. The four, however, did not plead to the charge and were remanded awaiting mental assessment until September 23, 2026.From left: Lawyer Angela Mulwa, her mother Rose Mbithe Mulwa and brother Chris Mulwa in court on August 25, 2026. Meanwhile, Ms Mulwa was on Wednesday charged before a Mavoko court with stealing a motor vehicle valued at Sh15 million. She was charged together with Nelson Masiga Makaralu, with the two accused of conspiring to steal a Sh15 million Range Rover Sport belonging to the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health (AFRIMEB).The two were presented before the Mavoko court on Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, contrary to Section 393 of the Penal Code. The prosecution alleges that the two conspired to steal the motor vehicle, an offence they allegedly committed together with others not before the court.The two also face a second count of stealing the same motor vehicle, contrary to Section 278A of the Penal Code. The charge sheet states that they committed the offence on February 12, 2026, at Kathangaita area in Mlolongo, Machakos County. The court heard that the vehicle was parked at the home of Professor David Musyimi Ndetei, a director of the institute.In an alternative charge, the two are accused of handling stolen property. The prosecution alleges that on August 1, 2026, they were found in possession of the same Range Rover at Rose Residential Homes, Karen Kerarapon 14 West, in Nairobi County, while knowing or having reason to believe that it was stolen.Mulwa and Masiga also face a separate charge of malicious damage to property. According to the prosecution, the two, jointly with others not before the court, wilfully and unlawfully damaged a dwelling house belonging to Prof Ndetei. The home, in Kathangaita, Machakos County, estimated to be worth approximately Sh56 million, was destroyed on February 12, 2026.

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