A 30-year-old man was early Thursday, February 14, lynched by an irate mob at Iria village in Gatanga, Murang’a County for allegedly stealing arrow roots from farms. Dickson Mbithi Munuve was cornered by villagers while selling the loot to revelers at a bar in Ndunyu Chege trading centre who demanded to know where he got the commodity from after complaints from farmers that thieves were stealing their farm produce at night.
Sources said the suspect revealed how together with other young men from the village, had been raiding farms at night and stealing the arrow roots that they later sell. “The mob could hear none of it and reasoned that had he stolen the farm produce because of hunger, they could have pardoned him,” the source said.
The man was lynched at around 12.45am near Thithi Coffee Factory gate. He was also ordered to reveal the identities of young men from the village who were his accomplices. The irate residents then raided their homes in a bid to flush them out but they escaped and went into hiding.
According to residents, the suspect was a casual labourer in the village during the day but a thief at night. The incident was confirmed by Gatanga Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Beatrice Kiraguri who warned members of the public against taking the law in their hands.