An angry mob in Meru County burned alive a man suspected of murder.
The incident occurred in Thamare village in Meru County where an angry mob set the suspect on fire.
The man had been apprehended by the members of the community on suspicion of murdering a man, but residents of Thamare village later beat him and killed him.
“Other potential suspects have been named by the apprehended suspect. We implore the government to pursue the suspects because the residents are unable to do so. Fortunately, one of the community members who is a police officer and was present at the scene stopped the lynching of more suspects. The deceased was suspected of being a member of a gang that murdered a member of the community in cold blood, stabbing him nineteen times and cutting his head fifteen times with a machette,” said an eyewitness.
According to Liz, a resident, Mwenda was murdered by a suspect identified as Mugai, who was burned to death.
“My husband was beaten mercilessly by unknown individuals and is still recovering from his injuries. He hasn’t been able to work until now. The suspect was apprehended while waiting in line for food at a community ceremony. He named four suspects in Mwenda’s murder. One of the named suspects was apprehended and taken into custody,” said Liz.
Another resident said that before an angry mob burned the suspect to death, he had previously cut the brother to the man he had killed earlier.
He said the suspect showed no mercy to any member of the community he encountered as he had vowed to kill everyone in the village.
Another resident, Kariithi said the police were hesitant to intervene in the apprehension of the suspect because they demanded payment.
“They haven’t done anything since Mwenda was killed. My father was also murdered by unknown individuals, and the police said they would investigate. Following a follow-up, the police promised to solve the case, but we recently learned that the suspects had been released,” said Kariithi.
An eyewitness said that should the police fail to apprehend the suspects, the community would take the law into our own hands.
A bar owner suspected of witnessing Mwenda’s murder narrowly escaped lynching by an enraged mob.
