Mob lynch suspected thief in Nakuru

By Mercy Kahenda

NAKURU, KENYA: A middle aged man was lynched by a mob in Eden area within Kiamunyi estate in Nakuru town on Wednesday morning while trying to rob residents.

The suspect is alleged to have been in a company of other four suspects who escaped when residents responded to alarm raised by a victim.

The victim, Olpher Moraa, said she heard footsteps in her homestead at around 3am and immediately noticed five men in her house.

“It was very early in the morning when I heard footsteps and when I woke up to check, I saw five men beside my bed,” said Moraa.

Moraa said the suspects ordered her and her three children to lie on the floor while they ransacked the house for valuables. “The suspects ordered me to give them money but before I could do anything they spotted my purse and they grabbed it,” said Moraa.

Moraa said the suspects who were in possession of crude weapons including knives and machetes entered her house through the window after they cut the grills using  metal cutter. She said while they were packing valuables from her house, they heard a neighbour raised alarm after he spotted another group of robbers stealing vehicle tires.

Jared Ondera, a neighbour said the suspects wanted to steal his car and after he heard their footsteps, he raised the alarm that attracted other neighbours.

He said neighbours gathered to arrest the suspects but four of them escaped while the deceased fell in temporary water tank and was lynched by angry residents.

“The suspect who was burned to death fell in a water tank and sustained serious injuries making it hard for him to escape," she said.

“Crime is high in this estate r,” said Lillian Ndungu, a resident of the estate.

Kiamunyi chief Wilson Maraga called on residents to avoid taking the law into their own hands. “Residents should not kill suspects of any nature but inform police officers and the provincial administration,” said Maranga.