This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
On July 6, 2020, a tragic incident unfolded in Mithuthi-ini village, Tebere Ward, in Kirinyaga County. Four men were lynched by residents who suspected them of stealing goats.
According to Mwea East Deputy Police Commander Lucas Chebet, the residents had been on high alert following a surge in similar incidents. They lay in wait for the suspected thieves, who were eventually caught and beaten with machetes and crude weapons.
“When we were informed about the attack, our officers rushed to the scene and found the four already killed. They had cuts all over. The residents should have informed the police to arrest the suspects instead of taking the law into their hands,” Chebet said.
The police chief added that the bodies of the suspects had been removed to the Kerugoya County Hospital mortuary and were yet to be identified. An investigation into the incident was underway, with the police vowing to bring to book any villager who participated in the lynching.
