• The boy died at Gatundu Level Six Hospital on February 20, a week after the attack.
• The officials claim Ndung'u was stealing macadamia nuts. He was also a chicken thief and a gang member, they say.
Nyumba Kumi officials in Gatundu North caught Peter Ndung’u on a neighbour's macadamia farm, tied his hands then rained blows, clubs and kicks on him.
They dragged the 17-year-old towards home in Igegania village and called his grandmother to witness as they beat him some more on February 14.
“I rushed there but I couldn’t even recognise my grandson. He was lying in a pool of blood, totally disfigured. They had tortured and injured him,” Mary Nyagachuhi told journalists at their home on Monday.
Nyagachuhi said the officials threatened to lynch her, too, if she dared to rescue her grandson.
“I stood my ground and dared them to torch us. I carried my grandson on my back because he couldn’t even stand on his own,” she said.
The boy died at Gatundu Level Six Hospital on February 20, a week after the attack.
The officials claim Ndung'u was stealing the macadamia nuts. He was also a chicken thief and a gang member, they say.
The family says Ndung'u was a law-abiding citizen and had been hired to harvest the macadamia by the neighbour. They want justice.
They recorded a report at Kamwangi police station under OB15/27/02/2021. Gatundu North subcounty police boss Ellena Wanjiku said they are investigating the matter. Police will arrest all who participated in clobbering the boy.
On Monday, Ndung’u’s mother Pauline Wanjiku was distraught at the circumstances of her son's death.
“What pains me a lot is that those who killed my son know us very well. They knew him since he was a child. Again they don’t regret what they did and even dared us to take them where we can,” she said.
Wanjiku said the officials look down on them because they are poor.
“They should have taken him to the authorities if indeed he was stealing instead of taking law in their hands,” she added.
Ndung’u’s funeral on Tuesday was cancelled by the authorities who said an autopsy had to be done before the family would be allowed to bury him.
Residents had to re-fill the grave that had been dug in preparation for the burial.
As the family reacted to the news that they could not go ahead with the funeral, the man believed to own the macadamia farm also appeared at the home.
He brought along the macadamia nuts that were allegedly stolen from his farm and recovered.
Irate residents descended on him but he was whisked away by a local cleric, Peter Kigoi, and rushed to his home.
Ndungu's family members accused the man of mocking them as they were grieving the loss of their son.
Youth from the village threatened to storm the man's farm and cut down all macadamia trees.
The family called on the police to speed up investigations and bring to book all those who took part in the crime.
“We want justice for our son. His life cannot be equated with macadamia nuts. We wish they had told us to pay for the nuts that he had harvested instead of taking his life at such a tender age,” Ndung’u’s aunt Alice Wambui said.
(edited by o. owino)