Homa Bay boda boda riders storm police station in attempt to lynch suspect

officers seize a motorcycle when a group of riders stormed Homa Bay police station

Officers seize a motorcycle when a group of riders stormed Homa Bay police station on June 6, 2023  baying for the blood of a suspect.

Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group

Police are investigating an incident in which a group of boda boda riders stormed the Homa Bay police station with the intention of taking a suspect out of his cell and killing him.

Officers are also looking for the owner of a home-made gun that the motocyclists had earlier presented at Rodi Kopany police station.

The boda bodas, baying for the blood of a robbery suspect, had caused chaos at the station on Tuesday night when they demanded the release of the suspect to them, but they were repelled by security agents using teargas.

More than 20 motorbikes were detained after the incident when their owners ran away as police officers dispersed them. It is expected they will be charged with trespassing.

They are accused of forcibly entering the station.

County police commander Samson Kinne said the riders would be charged as an example to others who might have the same intention of storming police stations.

It is an act of impunity and we will not allow it. The group whose motorcycles were arrested will serve as an example to others who may have the same idea of storming a police station,' he said.

Earlier, the riders stormed a house in Olodo village where they wanted to kill a suspect accused of robbery.

The group allegedly set fire to the suspect's house while attacking him with crude weapons.

Security officers from Homa Bay police station reached the scene in time to save him. He sustained serious head injuries.

Mr Kinne said the officers also managed to put out the fire before it burnt down the house.

During the confrontation, the motorcyclists claimed the suspect shot in the air to scare them. They later presented a home-made gun at the Rodi Kopany police station, saying it belonged to the man they tried to lynch.

Mr Kinne said his officers found that the gun was capable of firing bullets and was probably lethal.

“My officers went back to the scene to investigate who the owner of the gun was. They found some clues,” he said.

Later in the evening, the motorcyclists went to Homa Bay police station with the intention of taking the suspect out and lynching him, and attempts by security officers to calm them down were unsuccessful.

“No one has the right to storm a police station. There is no law that allows civilians to take out a suspect (from police custody),” he said.