Four lynched as crime escalates in Kathiani

Machakos, Kenya: Four suspected thieves were on Sunday night lynched by a mob in two separate crime incidents in Kathiani sub-county, a day after residents decried the rising cases of organised crime in the area.

The first incident occurred at Kalingile village where three middle-aged men were cornered by villagers after raiding a home of a local secondary school teacher in the wee hours of the night.

A witness told The Standard the suspects had tried to steal a teacher's car before villagers who responded to distress calls cornered and set them on fire. Area Chief Charles Loki said the suspects are from the neighbourhood.

"The two are known boda boda operators based in Kithunguini market while the third one does odd jobs within the neighbourhood," he said.

Another suspect caught harvesting sukuma wiki (kales) in a villager's farm was stoned to death.

The chief said armed irate residents lynched the suspect before the police could arrive at the scene.