This archive report was first published on 24 November 2019.
On Saturday evening, a 17-year-old Form Four candidate, Rodgers Bett, was brutally killed by an angry mob at Sigalagala market in a case of mistaken identity.
Bett, a student at Burendwa Secondary School, had just finished sitting for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams on Friday.
According to his mother, Beatrice Khalenya, the killing of her son was a tragic mistake, as he had never been convicted of any crime before.
Ms Khalenya expressed her grief, saying, “They killed my son claiming he is a thief and that’s not true. He had just finished sitting his KCSE exams and we knew he was going to uplift the family in future but that dream has been cut short. We are not happy with what the mob did to our son.”
Witnesses claim that the mob was led by Nyumba Kumi officials and was fueled by a false accusation made by a local businessman, Makau, who alleged that Bett had stolen his mobile phone.
However, Makau's account of events raises more questions than answers, as he claimed that the phone had been off for two days before being tracked to Bett's house, where it was allegedly found in the possession of his girlfriend.
Despite the questionable circumstances surrounding the killing, Makau has called upon the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and instead report suspects to the police.
As the community mourns the loss of a young life, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of mob justice and the importance of upholding the rule of law.
