- Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah wrote to the Director of Veterinary Services in April 2025 seeking a permit to import 12 water buffaloes from Italy
- The Directorate of Veterinary Services told Omtatah that Kenya lacked a veterinary import protocol with Italy for water buffaloes
- The correspondence has resurfaced amid President Ruto's proposal to diversify milk production by introducing domesticated water buffaloes
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah formally applied in April 2025 to import 12 water buffaloes from Italy, a request that was met with a response revealing a significant regulatory gap between Kenya and the European country.
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In a letter dated April 6, 2025, addressed to the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Allan Azegele, Omtatah sought a permit to bring in 10 cows and two bulls.
He grounded his application in Kenya Gazette Notice No. 977, dated January 31, 2025, which recognised domesticated water buffaloes as food animals under the Meat Control Act, and in a clarification issued by the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development in Statement No. 4, Paragraph 2, responding to queries from Senator Catherine Mumo.
What the Senator Told Veterinary Authorities?
Omtatah told the department he had already made preparations on his farm, setting aside infrastructure, grazing land and wetlands adjacent to two rivers to receive the animals.
He also disclosed that he maintained a herd of over 100 cattle but planned to phase them out in favour of the buffaloes.
"I would greatly appreciate your prompt attention and favorable consideration of this application," he wrote.
Veterinary Department's Response
Dr Azegele replied on April 23, 2025, informing the senator that Kenya did not have a veterinary import protocol in place with the Italian government covering water buffaloes. The Directorate said it would begin consultations with Italian veterinary authorities to establish a mutually agreed set of sanitary requirements.
"We will keep you updated on progress and provide further guidance on the importation process once the required arrangements have been finalised," Azegele stated.
The response made no indication that the permit had been approved. The exchange also drew a clear line between a gazette notice classifying an animal as a food animal under Kenyan law and the separate veterinary arrangements required before live animals can be imported from a specific country.
Connection to Ruto's Buffalo Milk Proposal
The correspondence has come back into focus following President William Ruto's October 9, 2026, remarks at the Agriculture and Food Transformation Summit in Nairobi, where he proposed introducing improved breeds of camels and domesticated water buffaloes as a way to address declining milk supply.
"I hear buffaloes also produce a lot of milk. If others are milking them, why can't we do the same? What is wrong with that? We need to diversify our sources of milk," the President said, citing India as a reference point.
Ruto directed Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke to identify suitable breeds.
On October 13, Mueke said the government was considering importing domesticated Murrah water buffaloes from India, initially for research at public farms, to assess feeding needs, behaviour and husbandry requirements before any wider rollout.
Source: TUKO.co.ke