An irate mob Saturday morning lynched a man suspected of stealing chicken near Lumakanda junction along the Eldoret – Webuye highway on the border between Kakamega and Uasin Gishu counties.
According to eye witnesses, it is alleged that the unidentified suspect invaded one of the homesteads in Kuryot village, Ng’enyilel in Uasin Gishu County at about 4 a.m where he stole four chickens.
However, while on his way back to his destination, the suspect met a group of youth which was returning home after spending the night at a funeral in the neighbouring Murgusi village.
“But chicken noise from inside a sack on the suspect’s shoulders raised an alarm, prompting the youths to stop and interrogate him with aim of establishing where he was taking the poultry,” revealed our anonymous source, adding that the suspect allegedly defied the young men and instead took to his heels.
The group then ran after the fleeing man before it arrested him near the Lumakanda junction where it attacked him with all sorts of crude weapons.
“His pleas for forgiveness landed on deaf ears as the irate mob went ahead to lynch him beyond recognition using an old tyre,” added the source.
Police officers at Turbo Riverside Station arrived at the scene and removed the suspect’s remains before transferring the same to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary in Eldoret.
Though identity of the deceased remained unknown by time of going to press, a section of residents who arrived later on at the scene believed he must have been a resident of Kakamega County.
Ng’enyilel Location Chief, Mr. Sammy Tororei confirmed the incident.
He, however, warned locals against taking the law into their hands whenever such criminal activities occurred in the area.
“They should instead hand such suspects to security agencies in order to pave room for due process of the law,” urged the local administrator.
