• Boda boda operators said to be part of the mob that attacked him.
• Traffic commandant warns residents against taking the law into their own hands.
A man from Embu was on Friday night killed by residents after he was allegedly caught stealing macadamia nuts in a farm.
Joseph Mbuthia, 41, was reportedly found in a farm belonging to Mary Rwamba in Kathangariri sub-location of Embu West subcounty.
His brother John Kariuki said the mob that included boda boda operators left his brother for the dead before he was rushed to Embu Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Kariuki deplored that his brother was killed on suspicions of stealing instead of being arrested and taken to the police station where the law would have taken its course.
He called on the police to take action against those who killed his brother.
Policemen from Manyatta police station began investigations.
The murder occurred just a week after traffic commandant Samuel Kimaru warned boda boda operators who have been lynching suspects after accidents and burning their vehicles.
Kimaru said some boda bodas seize suspects, especially those suspected of stealing colleagues’ motorcycles or committing any other crime. They set them ablaze, as well as vehicles involved in accidents with their colleagues.
Kimaru urged people to hand over suspects to police to take them to court where magistrates and judges determine their punishment.
If any boda boda operator is caught in a lynching, he will be arrested and charged with murder or another office with a long term behind bars.
"Anybody burning a motor vehicle or killing a suspect after arresting him will be dealt with according to the law. This is the work of the courts," Kimaru said.
Edited by R.Wamochie