Three lynched in Embu, Kirinyaga counties over theft claims

Three suspected criminals have been lynched in Embu and Kirinyaga counties.
In Embu, two suspects were killed on Monday night after they were found stealing electric wires belonging to Kenya Power in Kiamuringa village.

The two, who were yet to be identified, were burnt beyond recognition.

Angry residents spotted the suspects ripping off the wires from electric poles and challenged them to surrender, but they took off with their loot.

But residents cornered them and beat them unconscious before they set them on fire.
The mob recovered the stolen wires.

Police arrived shortly after the brutal attack and found the suspects dead. The remains were taken to the Embu Referral Hospital mortuary.

Notorious criminals

Residents described the suspects as notorious criminals who had been stealing Kenya Power wires.

"The slain suspects are dangerous people who have been involved in a series of criminal activities in the area," said Ibrahim Njuki.

Mbeere South sub-county police boss Inviolata Lumati confirmed the killings, but she warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.

She said the suspects should have been handed over to the police for questioning and prosecution.

She said the killings would be investigated.

And in Kirinyaga, a suspected gangster was hacked to death on Tuesday morning after an attempted violent robbery in Ngurubani town.

The man’s accomplice escaped death by a whisker by slipping into a nearby bush in the confusion.

The suspects raided a shop at dawn in a bid to rob its owner.

The businessman raised the alarm, drawing scores of residents, who confronted the suspects and set upon them with pangas and rungus, killing one of them on the spot.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrived at the scene and found the suspect lying in a pool of blood. They took the body to the Kerugoya Referral Hospital mortuary.

Mwea East sub-county police boss Daniel Kitavi said the slain suspect was yet to be identified.

"It is true two suspected gangsters raided a business premises but one of them was fatally attacked by a mob but the other managed to flee," Mr Kitavi said.

He said investigations were underway.