- Officials say the public resort to such actions for lack of trust in police or out of desperation on increased crime.
- He cited a case where taxi drivers were arrested and charged with murder in the Tassia area in 2009 after they lynched a Magistrate in a mistaken identity case.
Image: The Star
Police are investigating increased cases of mob lynching in the country amid calls for those arrested on suspicion of being criminals to be surrendered to authorities for processing.
Authorities warn mob lynching is criminal and those arrested over the same will face serious charges including robbery with violence and murder.
Six incidents were Monday recorded in the country where suspects were lynched by mobs in separate cases after being accused of being thieves.
The incidents were reported in Kariobangi, Kibera, Langas in Eldoret, Teso and Thika Town.
Police said all the victims were men aged between 23 and 26. Police say the men were accused of snatching mobile phones and other valuables from victims before an alarm was raised to alert a mob.
Nairobi police boss James Mugera said the trend is worrying and advised the public against taking the law into their hands.
“Mob lynching is criminal and we have taken action on some of the incidents and arrested those behind the same,” he said.
He advised that those arrested over claims of stealing be surrendered to authorities for processing.
He cited a case where taxi drivers were arrested and charged with murder in the Tassia area in 2009 after they lynched a Magistrate in a mistaken identity case.
Rogers Fundi was lynched after he mistakenly tried to open a car that he thought was his after a drink.
A group of taxi drivers mistook him for a thief and stoned him to death before dumping his body on the roadside. They were later arrested and charged with murder.
Officials say the public resort to such actions for lack of trust in police or out of desperation on increased crime.
This comes in the wake of increased deployment of undercover detectives in the city, as police take steps to destabilize criminal gangs that regroup after general elections.
Meanwhile, four cases of sudden deaths are under investigation by police in the city amid a rising number of such incidents.
The incidents were reported in Kawangware, City Centre, Karen and Njiru.
In Kawangware, the body of a 25-year-old woman was found in her house after she had complained of stomach pain.
In the CBD, the body of a 52-year-old man was found in a lodging he had booked for a night while in Njiru, a body of a 36-year-old woman was found in a toilet she had gone for a long call.
In Karen, police said the body of a 36-year-old man was found with blood oozing from his mouth.
The cause of the incidents is yet to be known and the bodies are lying in the mortuary waiting for autopsy.
Police say some of the victims could be having medical issues.