Residents burn trader's house over death of 17 year old boy

Residents of Machugwa village burnt the property of a local businessman following the death of a 17-year-old boy.

Collins Wafula was allegedly beaten for stealing a phone worth Sh1,000 from the home where he was a labourer.

The boy sat his KCPE examinations last year and scored 300 marks, but his grandmother was unable to raise enough money to enable him join high school.

Wafula approached the trader and got a job from which he hoped to save enough to pay his fees next year.

Chief Solomon Kariuki said the teenager was beaten on Tuesday morning by people allegedly hired by the trader.

“The information I have is that some items, including a mobile phone, went missing from the businessman's home and the boy was linked to the theft. Vigilantes were called to recover the lost property and the boy was beaten and wounded. He later succumbed to the injuries," said Mr Kariuki.

The villagers carried the corpse and dumped it at the trader's gate.

While the trader drove to Kitale police station to report the matter, the villagers burnt his multi-million shilling home and a tractor. They also destroyed a banana farm and killed 15 dairy cows.

Police from Maili Saba, who tried to stop the violence, were repulsed and even after reinforcement came from Kitale, nothing could be salvaged.

"Residents are demanding the prosecution of those involved in the boy's death. He had a bright future," said Alfayo Muganda, the Kiminini constituency manager.

Kariuki condemned both incidents and warned the public against taking the law into their hands.