Nairobi, May 12 -- Three months have passed since Ndulu Masavu lost her donkey to thieves, and the peasant farmer is still suffering. Since then, she has scoured the main livestock markets across Kitui County, hoping to find it.

"Mwiitu was my main source of livelihood," she told the Nation at Kakululo Village, referring to the donkey by its nickname. Until the thieves hiding struck under the cover of darkness, the single mother of five used her donkey to boost her household income by fetching water from River Kithyoko and delivering it to nearby homesteads and construction sites. "I am devastated," she told Nation.

She is not alone.

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