Villagers on Thursday tried to lynch a man whom they said confessed to murdering and mutilating a nine-year-old boy. They accused him of witchcraft.
The residents of Sosio village in Kamukuywa ward Kimilili, Bungoma county, torched his seven houses.
They said the man killed his neighbours’ son and dumped his body in his pit latrine. They also accused him of killing his shamba boy some time back and of having a “bad record”.
The Class 2 pupil went missing last Saturday.
The body had no hands, the eyes and private parts had been gouged out. It was discovered by a neighbour who went to relieve herself.
She noticed a lot of flies hovering over the toilet before she peeped in and saw a clothed human body. She alerted neighbours who pulled out the corpse.
The owner of the homestead was confronted by angry villagers before they said he confessed he was behind the killing.
The man was rescued by Kimilili police officers who took him to the station and locked him up.
Villagers burned seven houses in his homestead and destroyed a banana plantation and other crops.They pledged not to allow the man, about 60-years-old, back in the area.
Neighbours said the man was a witch. His wife and family members fled and are in hiding.
The boy’s mother, Gladys Wafula, said her child Manu had been missing for seven days.
She said she left him playing with other children whe she left for a funeral in Kabucha. He was gone when she returned.
“My son was only playing with other children in the play fields before he disappeared,” Wafula said.Manu was jovial and respectful and she could not imagine why someone would kill him, said the mother of three.
She urged police to ensure the suspect is jailed so her son gets justice.
Allan Sapiri, a Nyumba Kumi member, said the murder was shocking. Parents fear for the safety of their children, he said.
LYNCHING
In an unrelated horror, a mob on Thursday lynched a man linked to the murder of an elderly woman and gang-rape of her three granddaughers and houshelp in Litein, Bomet county.
The suspect was beaten to death after he was found in possession of the elderly woman’s mobile phone.
“The man was positively identified by one of the granddaughters. He lives a few kilometres from their house,” a witness told the Star on Thursday.
The husband and househelp were hospitalised.
Other witnesses said the suspect confessed that he was part of the four-member gang who committed the crimes.
After the killing and rapes, Kapsoit MCA Paul Chirchir and other leaders demanded an overhaul of the entire security team in Kericho county.
County police commander James Rugera confirmed the incident and said the man’s body has been transferred to the Kapkatet Hospital mortuary.
Earlier, DCI detectives arrested another man believed to be part of the gang. The 30-year-old suspect was arrested and positively identified by three victims of the attack.
The gang also stole Sh5,000.
The granddaughters aged 11, 13 and 20 years, positively identified the man after an identification parade, DCI boss George Kinoti said.
“The men also robbed them of unknown amount of money and sexually assaulted their grand granddaughters three girls aged 11, 13 and 20 years, positively identified the man after an identification parade was conducted,” Kinoti said.
“Detectives are doing everything to bring the suspects to justice.”