- They say most of those killed are helpless widows.
- They call on Interior CS Matiang'a to intervene urgently.
Image: THE STAR
Activists want the government to crack down on mobs killing people suspected of witchcraft in Kitutu Chache North, Kisii.
On Sunday, four elderly villagers were executed by a mob in Nyagonyi area on suspicion of abducting a secondary student from his house at night.
The student was found in the morning lying unconscious near the house. The suspects were identified during a forced identification parade and the mob descended on them.
An elderly man was among those lynched. The rest were women.
On Monday, activists Lilian Marwa, Esnas Nyaramba, Denis Wendo and Cyrus Ogega said those killed were widows who had nobody to speak for them.
They described the lynchings a violation of human rights.
"We live in a society that quickly throws caution to the wind and endangers the lives of elderly people," Marwa said.
She said widows often suffer in silence as chiefs look the other way.
"From being raped [by people known to them] to being labelled witches and being lynched, the chilling murders that border on madness must be stopped," she said.
Some of the widows, she said, were fighting land-related battles with neighbours.
"We need to stand up for them. We need to protect them. We need to stop this."
Nyaramba called for the arrest of the perpetrators.
"Most have been captured on videos. They should be arrested and prosecuted. We cannot live in a society that has contempt for the law," Wendo said.
He said such incidents are bound to increase if security agents fail to address the matter.
"In a society where the majority of the youth are idle, such incidents point to a growing problem that needs to be addressed," he told the Star.
Ogega asked Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i to order the arrest of the killers, saying their pictures were all over social media.