A lynch mob has burned an alleged serial killer alive after he was accused of killing a man in Meru County.
Eyewitnesses named Makacha as the man who was beaten up before a tyre was placed on his body and set alight in Kiutine village in Igembe-Subcounty.
He had been accused of killing a man called Koome whose body was found by a roadside.
Disturbing footage shows the mob surrounding Makacha.
They beat and kicked him before binding his hands and feet, placed a tyre on his body and then set him alight.
Grim footage shows Makacha on the ground as flames leap across his body.
“We were with Koome the night before Makacha killed him. On the morning he died, he left the house and that we heard screams a few minutes later. When we arrived on the scene, we found Koome lying in a pool of blood with deep cuts all over his body,” Mutwiri.
Mutwiri said they saw Makacha fleeing a short distance away and Koome was still alive and breathing heavily. He said that they later reported the incident to the police.
According to Kinoti, at around 2:00 a.m., he saw Makacha attempting to break down a gate leading to Koome’s house, which id located next to a petrol station.
“When I approached him and asked what he wanted because it was after business hours, he said he had no problem with me but with Koome. He claimed that he had threatened to kill Koome and that he would carry it out. Koome used to get home from Maua at 2:00 p.m. and I warned him that he had been threatened by Makacha,” said Kinoti.
Kinoti said that Koome was later hacked with a machete while riding his motorcycle.
“He jumped off his motorcycle and began running, yelling that he was being attacked by a thief. Makachi hacked him once more, and he died. An enraged mob reacted to the screams and pursued Makachi,” said Kinoti.
According to an eyewitness, the members of the community can now live in peace because the suspect used to rob businesses including charcoal traders.
“He used to rape students as they exited schools. He used to go into bars and order drinks for people, only to leave without paying,” an eyewitness said.
A resident said that Makacha gouged out one of her child’s eyes, and the case was scheduled for a hearing in February of next year.
“His father paid for his bail on October 26th of this year. I’m disappointed because I didn’t give birth to a child with one eye,” an eyewitness said.
An eyewitness claimed that Makacha raped women as well as his mother.
“We haven’t seen trains in a long time, and with the suspect dead, we can expect rain today. We are relieved that Makacha has died, but we are saddened by the death of the innocent person he killed,” he said.
According to an eyewitness, If you did not give Makacha all of the money you had on him when he ambushed you, he would murder you.
“We were used to taking our children to school early in the morning and picking them up late in the evening to keep them safe from being attacked by Makachi,” an eyewitness said.
An eyewitness claimed that Makacha ambushed him in his home and stabbed him in the eye. He said that there was a pending case hearing in court, and that he was released on bail by his brother.
“The hearing was set for February 2nd, 2022,” he said.
An eyewitness said that he came from the same village as Koome, and Makacha was wrong to take his life.
“If he had a problem with Koome, he should have dealt with it through the proper legal channels,” he said.
An eyewitness said that Koome was the chairman of the boda boda operators, and his intervention during a land-grabbing incident resulted in the restitution of the land.
According to Mary Muthoni, Koome was a devout Seventh-Day Adventist who regularly attended church.
“He suffered two deep cuts on his head, exposing the interior of his brain. Parents avoided taking their children to school early in the morning for fear of being attacked by Makachi. They obtained permission from the school administration to arrive late for class,” said Muthoni.
Mary said that she ran a business in Kiutine market, but it was dangerous to walk home after 7:00 p.m. for fear of being attacked by Makacha.
“He used to wear a jacket in which he concealed his weapons. When he encountered residents, he would forcefully demand money from them, and for the women, he would rape them,” said Muthoni.
According to Mary, the members of the community were not rejoicing for no reason, but because Makachi’s bad behavior was put to an end. She said that when his name was mentioned, it instilled fear in the members of the community.
An eyewitness claimed Makacha was released after each arrest and would return to the community, slaughtering people like animals.
According to an eyewitness, Makacha once dodged a bullet from the police, and every time an arrest attempt was made on him, he escaped.
