Residents lynch suspected serial killer as insecurity rises in Awendo town

A man suspected to be behind a spate of killings in Awendo sub-county was Monday lynched by residents.

According to police reports, the suspect, who was identified as Charles Owawa, was cornered at a sugar plantation feeder road by residents who attacked him with machetes and stones.

Mathias Pombo, Awendo sub-county police commander said they were met by angry residents when they went to save the suspect.

"By the time we got there, they had already killed him," Pombo said, adding that the suspect was killed and then set on fire. "We are still conducting investigations and will establish if he is the person behind the spate of killings."

Awendo town has been hit by a wave of insecurity.

On November 7, 2022, a 76-year-old pastor was hacked to death at Rinya junction by unknown people who also stole his phone.

The police said the pastor's body was found lying in a pool of blood, near a sugarcane plantation, with his head nearly separated from the body and his tongue removed.

On November 4 last year, the body of a 42-year-old man who was said to have been an employee of Sony Sugar Company was found near a footbridge in Awendo town, leading to protests by residents over insecurity.

On October 16 last year, the body of a 48-year-old man who was also an employee of Sony Sugar was found next to the police station.

Pombo said the suspect who was lynched was well-known by residents as he lived in Awendo town.